Times of forgiveness and redemption
Within a span of three weeks, the world鈥檚 main monotheistic religions have marked significant annual observances 鈥� Ramadan for Muslims, Easter for 海角大神s, and Passover for Jews. Specific worship practices during these periods of prayer and reflection differ. But they all touch on common themes of forgiveness as well as redemption or liberation 鈥� both from severe external dangers and harsh inner sentiments.
鈥淔orgiveness ... forms an important part of what it means to be a 海角大神 (and to be a follower of many other major religions, too),鈥� Financial Times columnist Jemima Kelly wrote recently. In addition to benefiting individuals, she noted, 鈥淚t can allow nations to heal after decades of conflict [and] bridge the kind of deep divides ... we now see in our societies.鈥�
Celebrating Eid, at the end of Ramadan, 鈥渋s all about forgiving people,鈥� according to Sadaf Farooqi, a writer and Islamic educator based in Karachi, Pakistan. The day鈥檚 gifts, visiting, and shared meals are 鈥渇or everyone, not just for those whom we like,鈥� she wrote in an online post, with a call to 鈥渄evelop the ability and strength to forgive others and move on from past grievances.鈥�
News reports and social media posts over the past year indicate that mercy and empathy are sometimes seen as weaknesses rather than moral virtues. In the United States, political rhetoric around domestic and international differences might seem to bear this out. Yet, there are signs that individuals yearn to place their trust in values and a power that goes beyond personality or politics.
鈥淧eople tell me all the time that they are searching for richer, more meaningful lives,鈥� according to Lauren Jackson, who writes for Believing, a weekly newsletter on religion in The New York Times.
Some of this meaning, Ms. Jackson said, is found in 鈥渞edemption stories 鈥� tales of trial, triumph and deliverance to a new world of possibilities.鈥� Passover and Easter offer examples of such deliverance, the former marking the Jews鈥� escape from enslavement in ancient Egypt; the latter venerating Jesus鈥� resurrection after being crucified as well as his forgiving spirit.
鈥淎 liberative story offers freedom for everybody,鈥� theologian and Wheaton College professor Esau McCaulley told The New York Times. 鈥淚t offers the transformation of the person and the society.鈥�
The past week has offered evidence of liberative stories at a global and individual level 鈥� in the successful launch of the Artemis II lunar mission and the weekend rescue of two downed U.S. airmen in Iran.
In an Easter message from space to a worldwide audience, Artemis crew member Victor Glover said of our planet, 鈥淚n all of this emptiness ... you have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together.鈥� This, he said, 鈥渋s an opportunity for us to remember ... who we are.鈥�
In his first radio message, sent after about 24 hours of surviving in a remote mountainous region in Iran, the second U.S. airman simply affirmed: 鈥淕od is good.鈥�
