Everyone seemed to hate him. His friend kissed him on the cheek and the soldiers shackled him. How did it come to this, he thought. A few days ago everyone was casting palms at his feet and celebrating his entry into the City. Mom was beaming and Dad was proud. M.M. was smiling at him and he could see in her eyes her approval for his work. The blind man was there as well as Nicodemus and Zachius and Scribes and the Pharisees. They were nodding their approval and joining in the festivities. ‘When you are up…you are up,’ he said to James his brother.

What a struggle he had had with Big S. and his suggestions. They all sounded feasible and a wonderful alternative to what was coming. He recalled how his thumb hurt when he accidentally hit it in Dad’s Shop. The stinging pain had caused him to swear an oath and he wondered if he would do so again today. What a mission he considered. Hope for the hopeless and peace for those in conflict…and death as the reward for his labor. What a deal his Dad had given him!

Pilate had pleaded with his people to let him live…and they chose in a vehement motion of solidarity to let a thief live in his place. ‘Well that is alright he thought…I am no better than any other human.’ Blood streamed down into his eyes. His feet and legs felt like lead. ‘I can not carry it any further,’ he said. ‘I will carry it for him,’ said Simon. ‘My goodness that is a bit better,’ he thought.

‘There is Mom and Mary and I feel ashamed to be displayed in such a manner before them,’ he thought. ‘I am so thirsty…please give me a little water,’ he asked. The sky became dark as night and the veil of the temple was rent in twain…and he died as he said…it is finished…

It was a celebration…a Holiday… He hoped that he had gotten everything prepared…everything right. It was a familial/business meeting. There would be much to discuss. Things were going to change. Actually little would be as it had been.

What an interesting journey…what an exciting ride, he thought. Hope buoyed him…and he rode on the dreams of his friends. As they all came into the dining hall they were laughing and goading each other. They were a good group. Local boys and hard workers. They all wanted to sit near the boss. As always they were all ready for a glass of wine.

‘What did the boss say…take some bread and drink from his cup…for how long,’ the Big Guy asked? ‘I could not hear him as everyone was talking at once…and someone hollered to the matron and asked her when she was going to take the food order,’ the Young One said.

‘As he passed me the bowl of appetizers he said…I thought that he said…that one of us who dipped his hand in the bowl with him was going to betray him,’ The Old One said. ‘What did you do then,’ asked the Young One?’ ‘I jerked my hand out of the bowl and passed it on…I never cared much for appetizers,’ The Old One said.

He started singing. He liked to sing and he enjoyed his friends singing with him… The song was sad and soon everyone began to cry… except J.I. who sat silently and appeared deep in thought.

The temperature had plummeted fifteen degrees. It had felt like early summer and now it felt more like fall, instead of a warm shirt the need dictated a sweater and hat to accompany the ensemble. Life was simple enough for the poor and boiled down to the necessities and few luxuries. The kids were excited about Easter and the Easter Bunny, hiding Easter Eggs, and getting Easter Baskets. Mom had the rough choice of providing some fun for her children or paying for her monthly prescriptions. She chose to give those whom she loved a fun and memorable Holiday.

The Boy climbed on his mom’s lap as he did each evening and she read him an Easter Story. She read of Jesus and his love for all humans and how he healed the sick and fed the hungry. The Boy asked Mom why she seemed happy but her eyes were sad? Mom said that Jesus loved him, had been crucified, resurrected from the dead, and was forever alive. ‘How interesting,’ the boy said.

Easter came and mom and her boy and girl arrived at church for Sunrise Service. Their clothes were plain but adequate. They sat in the back pew and listened to the preacher. ‘Jesus forgave those who crucified him…his message was to do good to those who hurt you and to love everyone,’ said the preacher. Mom was losing her eyesight. The kids did not know. She read the stories from memory each night when the boy climbed onto her lap. She no longer could see the words. As the service ended and the many congregants walked out and on their way to Easter Brunch…the humble family waited so as to not be noticed for their poor garments. An old man was watching them from the dark corner of the church. He wore a Fedora and had a white beard. He asked Mom how she had been and she said not bad for an old lady. The Old Man laughed and tears came to his eyes and he gave her a balm. ‘Put this on your eyes when you arrive home…tell no one…

It was another day for most. Not so for her son. He had wanted to help people since he was a young boy. The other children regarded him as their big brother. He loved to work with his dad in his shop. He enjoyed fishing and of course, everyone did…but then so did his friends. Mom gave him a bedtime that he did not like very much. He had a girlfriend and she enjoyed hearing him tell his stories. He was a captivating storyteller. You could shut your eyes and soon you were transported to the location and the time of his story. He was surprisingly rooted and had a clear sense of place. Mom told him that he was special and that he had a mission on Earth. He wondered how that could be as he was a little kid and often got tired and felt sick and he hit his thumb with a hammer in dad’s shop…and he uttered a bad word…

Although he had years of experience in Dad’s Shop he planned to go into commercial fishing. He loved to catch fish. He and his girlfriend had plans to be married. They loved each other and she understood him…she was into him. He loved to walk through the hills. He loved people but he was a bit solitary and contemplative.

He enjoyed looking at clouds and the blue sky. He enjoyed camping with his dad and brothers. This is where he told many of his stories. People told him that he had a unique voice and that they enjoyed hearing him speak. He thought that his voice sounded a bit strange…but was appreciative of the compliments.

So many were following him. They hung on his every word. One time he helped to feed thousands of people. He was as surprised as anyone how the food had multiplied. He was at a wedding of a friend and they told him that they had run out of wine…he asked that they pour a fresh glass…and it was wine…

His best friend kissed his cheek and then the soldiers took him. He thought of his fiance and the multiplication of the food and the new wine. Mom told him that he had a mission…from God. He prayed…’Let this cup pass from me…not my will but thy will be done.’

‘A scene of the film Barabbas (1961) in which a total solar eclipse that occurred on February 15, 1961, was used to recreate the crucifixion darkness,’ Wikipedia.

Religious scholars tell us that darkness fell for three hours during Christ’s Crucifixion. I witnessed a solar eclipse a few years ago and it was a spiritual experience. Having worked the evening or night shifts for the majority of my career at Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale I became very fond of night. In my neck of the woods, the night is serene and peaceful and yet there is an element of danger to it. Elie Wiesel wrote of his survival in a Nazi Death Camp in his Nobel Prize-winning book…Night. I met Mr. Weisel at SIUC. He was inspiring and his eyes had a profound sadness.

The night is where we find ourselves often in our modern age. We have more labor-saving devices than ever and less contentment. Antisemitism is on the rise. Some are banning books. Others are banning art. Governors and legislatures are writing to mandate the morality that is popular with their constituents…with little heart or soul in the legislation. They seek to form the government into a theocracy that they have invented specifically to suit their political aspirations.

There is a loud political/religious cry for holiness and prayer and the theology of Us Against Them… We love the embryo and the fetus…but once the child is born it is time for them to pull themselves up by their bootstraps…or their booty straps… Children are food insecure…they are hungry…and yet when the government reaches out to ensure that they get something to eat we say that their mom and dad should get a job and feed their kids. That wish does not seem to feed the hungry children.

‘Behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.’

“And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.’

‘So we are going to call the Palm Sunday Play…Palms,’ asked Chet? ‘Yes we have a bunch of Palms that come from near the Kentucky border,’ Neva J. said. ‘Who will portray Christ,’ Jane asked? We have hired a theatre student from Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale to attend the honors, Billy B. answered. ‘I am certain that our fellow students will enjoy our rendition of Palm Sunday,’ Daryl said with a broad smile!

“I have always thought Palm Sunday was a bit sad in that it comes less than a week before Good Friday,’ Chet commented. ‘Yes…but the majesty of Palm Sunday illustrates the coming of the Messiah and how Israel missed the One for whom they had been waiting,’ Jane said. ‘You mean Easter is not all about Peter Rabbit,’ Chet asked? ‘No but he plays a role in the joys of Easter and certainly all living creatures long for Jesus’s influence on Earth,’ Neva J. responded.

The auditorium was packed. The stage had been transformed into old Jerusalem and included a donkey for the theatre student to ride on as he entered the adoring throng casting palm fronds in front of him. ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,’ they called out. ‘Where is the actor…it is almost time for him to enter stage left,’ Jane said with some worry in her voice.

‘There was a man in a long white robe standing in the wings a few minutes ago…I will ask him if he can fill in for our missing performer,’ said Chet. ‘Why yes…I will be happy to ride the donkey, said the white-robed gentleman with the beard and piercing eyes that seemed to see history.

When the mysterious man entered the stage a hush came upon the assembled audience. He looked lovingly at the audience and tears could be seen coursing down his cheeks. After the performance, the donkey rider stayed and spoke individually with each member of the cast and all who had come to see the production. He seemed to know each of them and called them by name and when their time with him was done…they felt inspired and renewed and had a purpose in their step that they did not walk in with.

‘What was the gentleman’s name,’ asked Billy B.? ‘He told me to call him JC…