As I’m writing this, the birds are chirping, and the sun is shining. The sky is a beautiful light blue. It is morning, and it is spring, one of life’s great gifts that all can enjoy. There is the feeling of the fresh and the new. As I’m writing this, I’m also in the midst of a series of Lenten Bible studies on the passion of Christ, a story that reflects much that is old and stale about our world. What I mean is, the ugliness and violence of the human race manifested in the story. The world has been and continues to be a place of injustice and oppression, a place of self-centeredness and greed, a place of sin. However, we can endure the ugliness of the story, even as we endured the long winter we had this year, because we know a new day is dawning. Easter is our spiritual springtime. It is a breath of fresh air after the heavy focus on sin and God’s just punishment of our sin. As Christians we have hope. I really don’t understand how people can have hope without Easter. I think C