The Rev. President Barack Obama made the dais a pulpit during his weekly address on Saturday and sounded an awful lot like the most secular preacher you’ve ever heard.
After reminding everyone how Sunday, April 20, holds significance for millions of Americans (leaving out how the date 4/20 holds significance for many millions more), marking not only the Passover tale of Exodus and its “victory of faith over oppression,” but also the execution and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Obama got downright evangelical in the most divinely all-encompassing of ways:
“…These holy days have their roots in miracles that took place long ago. And yet, they still inspire us, guide us and strengthen us today. They remind us of our responsibilities to God and, as God’s children, our responsibilities to one another.
“For me, and for countless other Christians, Holy Week and Easter are times for reflection and renewal. We remember the grace of an awesome God, who loves us so deeply that He gave us his only Son, so that we might live through Him. We recall all that Jesus endured for us – the scorn of the crowds, the agony of the cross – all so that we might be forgiven our sins and granted everlasting life. And we recommit ourselves to following His example, to love and serve one another, particularly “the least of these” among us, just as He loves every one of us.
“The common thread of humanity that connects us all – not just Christians and Jews, but Muslims and Hindus and Sikhs – is our shared commitment to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. To remember, I am my brother’s keeper. I am my sister’s keeper. Whatever your faith, believer or non-believer, there’s no better time to rededicate ourselves to that universal mission.
“For me, Easter is a story of hope – a belief in a better day to come, just around the bend.”
Notice how astutely he passed from the specific purposes of celebrating the Easter and Seder traditions into something more like a B’Hai call to sing “Kuuuumbaaaayaaaa…”
After taking the day off with family on Sunday for some churching and candy gorging, Obama planned to carry on the White House tradition of the Monday Easter Egg Rol l (pictured above in 2012), in which specially chosen children and their parents get to use giant spoons to push eggs across the White House South Lawn for photographers.
[Image courtesy of Facebook/The White House]
