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On this Easter weekend, no one is alone in concerns and uncertainties they might be feeling.
Many others are enduring similar anxieties, while others are feeling various degrees of emptiness because of circumstances in their lives -- wondering how that emptiness might be resolved.
For Christians, grounded in the victory of Jesus Christ over death and opening the gates to salvation for mankind, Easter should be one of joy, hope, reconciliation and resolution from the pains of daily life.
Instead, events on the world, national and local stages, coupled with negative or otherwise dangerous human tendencies, goals and actions, often thrust those positive intents and outcomes into some difficult-to-discern corner, to be ignored or merely talked about without any sense of urgency or sincerity.
Consider the thoughts and fears -- even doubts and shaken beliefs -- of Jesus' disciples in the hours after his crucifixion on Calvary. Consider the many people who have had their strong religious beliefs undermined by the failure thus far to win total victory over the coronavirus, this being the third pandemic Easter.
And now Russia's invasion of Ukraine and all the suffering and death that have been unleashed; what a prescription for doubt and second-guessing.
But in his April 2019 Easter message, Bishop Mark L. Bartchak, quoting Pope Francis, reiterated the point that "however dark things are, goodness always re-emerges and spreads … and human persons have arisen time after time from situations that seemed doomed."
So it must be hoped that the pope's Palm Sunday message this year about the "folly of war" leading people to commit "senseless acts of cruelty" somehow helps to begin an awakening about what needs to be done to restore peace, not only in Ukraine but also in other places where conflicts are ongoing.
Despite all of the problems in the world and the various factors that seem hellbent on distracting people from that which Easter really is about, it remains joyful to watch children's reactions when an Easter basket filled with chocolate bunnies, colorful jelly beans and numerous other kinds of Easter candy is before their eyes.
However, for adults, an "Easter basket" need not be an actual object in order to bring happiness and peace of mind.
An "Easter basket" can help family members resolve their differences and bring to an end long-standing animosities.
An "Easter basket" can help a husband and wife discuss openly the bases for problems and cause them to commit to putting an end to what is undermining their marriage.
An "Easter basket" can help a neighbor notice that a person next door is in need of help, leading to assistance for that person.
An "Easter basket" can provide vision for people to see ways to help their community, rather than merely second-guess, criticize or mock it.
An "Easter basket" can inspires a birth mother or birth father of a child given up for adoption as an infant to embrace the opportunity of finally meeting in person that daughter or son years later, even if she, he or they rejected that daughter or son's attempt to arrange such contact in the past.
Scriptures say Jesus was raised from the dead.
If given the opportunity, Easter today has the power to give life to previously unimagined harvests of peace of mind, joyfulness and contentment.