Providence has designed that Good Friday, Passover and Easter follow each other in perfect succession this year.
This is exactly how things were aligned on that first Holy Week when Jesus was crucified.
On the Thursday, (Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday) at night, he was betrayed after his last Passover meal.
On Friday (Good Friday) he was crucified and buried. The story goes that he had to be buried that night of the ‘preparation’ for the Sabbath. Saturday was the Sabbath Day.
Of course, Sunday became the very first Easter or resurrection day, because according to the story of Christians, Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday.
Again, let us quietly observe that Good Friday, Passover and Easter are lined up in perfect order, exactly as it would have happened at the beginning of the Christian era.
Now, we need to notice something else that is strangely happening this year at the same time. An event that is very important to black Americans is inserted plum and in the very center of these momentous, epoch forming, nation building and “religion” founding events!
What is the event that has inserted itself, plum and at the center of these historic life and culture changing events? The death date of Martin Luther King, Jr.! Yes, this year, placed in the middle of these significant events is April 4th, the day on which King was assassinated— murdered or sacrificed.
We think that this happening may be forcing upon the black race a moment when they are called upon to interpret why the cosmic powers are aligning themselves in this way, at this time— when after all the bad, sad and gross things that have happened to blacks over the years— their race has now produced the most powerful man in the world in the person of President Barack Obama!
Could it be that this cosmic alignment, at a time like this, is begging blacks to interpret just what this all means? See, bad things may happen, but it is incumbent on those who experience these bad things to interpret them. They could be interpreted for good or for evil. Most other peoples interpret the happenings in such a way as to bring a benefit. Why? Because the power to overcome matters like these rests solely in their interpretation.
Wish to see how Joseph in the Jewish Old Testament Story chose to interpret his being sold by his brothers into Egyptian slavery—with all the horrible experiences that followed? Read Genesis 45:1-50: for the end of the story.
However, it is in these words that we discover how winners interpret evil experiences and turn them into good: “I am Joseph your brother whom you sold into slavery and be not grieved that you did this to me; you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good!” The victory comes in the interpretation of the story.
See also how Christians interpreted
the cruel death on the cross, making the very instrument of death the symbol of their victory! “Oh Death,” they say, “Where is your sting, Oh grave, where is your victory!” They interpret the awful happening by turning it around. They then boldly and strangely name the day “Good Friday.” They celebrate the day each year; they remember and recall the awfulness of the day, but claim that good comes out of that evil.
Maybe the cosmic forces are forcing upon us the moment for our learning from these paradigms of the past as we do a series of things.
Firstly, just as the Jews under Moses changed the verb “to Passover” into the noun “The Passover,” so too should blacks, around ML King’s death change the verb “shall overcome” into the noun “The Overcome.”
Secondly, they should date the happening at a time in history. Just as Good Friday, Passover and Easter are dated and set on the calendar, we must date “The Overcome” on April 4.
Miraculously, in centuries and millennia to come, “The Overcome” will keep falling in the general period of Passover, Good Friday and Easter, always in the spring when life is being renewed offering blacks a chance to retell the story of battles and victories along the way!
In all of this, remember one key thing: You need permission from no one to do this new thing. Choose only to reinterpret all experiences in a way that leaves you victorious. Use it as Christians and Jews do as the time to remember, retell, celebrate and teach those who come after, that what was intended by others for evil— killing King, demeaning black people— was meant by God, for good— it led to Barak Obama! Then challenge all to lead lives that ensure that they, like the many other successful blacks who succeeded despite the odds, must make it their cause célèbre to overcome whatever obstacles are placed in the way, now and always.
If you are interested in further exploring these thoughts, follow The Overcome Book on Twitter @theovercomebook.