April - Grand Encampment of Knights Templar, USA

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNALBySir Knight Donald Craig KerrApril showers bring May flowers,so it is said. That means spring ishere. Springtime is pleasure time.We feel and enjoy the beauty of nature. Aswe look around, we see nature putting ona new face, and that reflects happiness. Tosee nature returning its blossoms of fragranceis to believe “God’s in His heaven;all’s right with the world.” Some do not seeit that way. Maybe they can’t, but if wecan believe in optimism and enthusiasm, ithelps us to look up and not down. Thingsmay not always be at their best. If, however,we can make them look a little brighter, wehave done something worthwhile.Springtime brings together two importantfestivals. One is Passover and the other is Easter. The miracle of resurrectionand the freedom of life go hand in hand with the rebirth of nature. The timefor Christ’s resurrection from the dead was in the spring of the year, when anemonesand wild flowers along the Judean hills would be bursting in bloom. WhenMoses led his enslaved people of Israel out of Egypt to the Promised Land, it mayhave been springtime.All of this suggests hope. From what appears dead, new life emerges. Hope is an actionof creativity which only God has the power to bring to fruition. Passover and Easterare not man-made schemes to shock and bewilder the world. They are wonders andmiracles originating with God. They are givento restore our faith in knowing that nothingstays the same but that life is always changingand being transformed. The mood of thisfestival time compels us to break the spell ofapathy and to seek the light and hope thatdispels the shadows of doubt and fear.The Reverend Sir Knight Donald C. Kerr, amember of Beauseant Commandery No. 8,Baltimore, MD, is Pastor-emeritus of theRoland Park Presbyterian Church in Baltimore.He resides at 700 John Ringling Boulevard,Apt. E202, Sarasota, FL 34236-1586.26 april 2011