Days to be open to others

This week may well be called very special for Jews, Jeshuaists or Jeshuans, Messians, Christadelphians and other Non-Trinitarian Christians as well as for Catholics and many Protestants.

14-22 Nisan involves an important period of reflection. This is, in fact, when people reflect on the period how Jehovah God, provided an opportunity for the Hebrews to escape the slavery of the Egyptians. On the Remembrance Day of the Exodus from Egypt, several Jews, Jeshuaists, Messianics and Non-Trinitarian Christians, invite people to share the Lord’s Supper together.

Muslims too now have days where they can involve others around meals in the evening. For them too, this month counts as a set apart or sacred month, where they observe abstinence from food during the day. They too, like Jews and Christadelphians among others, then pay attention to tolerance, generosity, charity and togetherness.

After sunset, several Muslims invite or visit relatives and acquaintances to eat together. In doing so, one generally sees very sweet pastries in our regions to supposedly regain energy, but by such sweets, one is actually going to negate the benefit of not eating to cleanse the body. The meals sometimes stretch out over hours, because one should not or cannot eat hastily because of the empty stomach. The iftar is used in Belgium and the Netherlands by various mosques and organisations to bring Muslims together, but also to invite non-Muslims to participate in this communal meal. Even a Brussels hotel provides a space for this purpose where all kinds of Muslims and non-Muslims can eat together and exchange ideas.

Catholics also had their “Silent Week” this week, which ends on Sunday with “Easter” where many people also get together with family members to have a good time together and eat well. Many Catholics use Easter Day to then also indulge in many pagan customs, such as Easter egg collecting. Not much remains of the former Lenten custom of “Holy Week“. Few Catholics can be detected who still practice real fasting.

Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, the six weeks of penitence before Easter.

By the way, those Catholics have forgotten the content of that cross made of ashes on their foreheads that they go to get for that fast on Ash Wednesday. Many no longer even believe that they will turn to dust and ashes, but think that when they die, they will go to heaven and see all their former relatives and dead friends again.

For many name Christians, Easter is the most important or their second or third most important feast of the religious year depending on the denomination. They commemorate, as other Christians do during the Passover holiday week, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Easter lasts for two days and is celebrated on a Sunday and Monday. Both days are sometimes referred to separately as Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.

In these special days, the above religions want to pay attention to what God has done for mankind and how everything fits into God’s Plan, where there is something better for mankind than the present life.

What stands out in both is the hope that these believers all share with each other, and which also calls for showing love to each other. In doing so, it would not be a bad thing if all these believers were to come together to share their experiences and their life of faith.

Dutch version / Nederlandse versie: Dagen om open te staan voor anderen

Preceding

Seven days of Passover

Additional reading

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Published by Marcus Ampe

Retired dancer, choreographer, choreologist Founder of the Dance impresario office and archive: Danscontact-Dansarchief plus the Association for Bible scholars, the Lifestyle magazines "Stepping Toes" and "From Guestwriters" and creator of the site "Messiah for all". - Gepensioneerd danser, choreograaf, choreoloog. Stichter van Danscontact-Dansarchief plus van de Vereniging voor Bijbelvorsers, de Lifestyle magazines "Stepping Toes" en "From Guestwriters" en maker van de site "Messiah for all". View more posts