A Greeting for Easter and Passover

Let me take a break from preparing for early voting next week to wish happiness to all this weekend who are celebrating either Easter or Passover. There is one word that has come to mind as I’ve thought about both holidays this year: Liberty.

For Passover is, at its core, the celebration of the liberation of the Hebrews from Egypt and the journey to the Promised Land; while the Resurrection gives us the promise of liberation from sin and from the law of the Pharisees. As Paul tells us in Galatians:

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled with one word, even in this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

I know that those of us who cherish Liberty, and who support the Promised Land of Israel, feel like we have not had a lot to celebrate recently. We’ve witnessed our government usurp powers it was never intended to have, and recently it needlessly strained relations with our closest ally in the Holy Lands—Israel. But with all this, we must recognize that we are entering a new season of Liberty, and we must fight for it, and pray for it. Therefore, this weekend let’s together recite and remember the concluding words of the traditional Passover prayer: Next year in Jerusalem.