Easter Anthology (1 dari 5)

post by: hansel @ WG

Hallelujah! He is risen!

Hallelujah Chorus (from The Messiah)

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

The kingdom of this world
Is become the kingdom of our Lord,
And of His Christ, and of His Christ;
And He shall reign for ever and ever,
For ever and ever, forever and ever,

King of kings, and Lord of lords,
King of kings, and Lord of lords,
And Lord of lords,
And He shall reign,
And He shall reign forever and ever,
King of kings, forever and ever,
And Lord of lords,
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

And He shall reign forever and ever,
King of kings! and Lord of lords!
And He shall reign forever and ever,
King of kings! and Lord of lords!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!



Georg Frederic Handel (1685-1759)
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The Resurrection

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, & Mary the mother of James, & Salome bought spices, so that they might go & anoint Him. Very early on the 1st day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to 1 another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; & they were alarmed. But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed! You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; He is not here. Look, there is the place they laid Him! But go, tell His disciples & Peter that He is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you." (Mark 16:1-7)

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Umat Kristen memandang penyeberangan yang dilakukan oleh bangsa Israel melintasi dasar Laut Merah yang kering sebagai lambang perjalanan suatu jiwa meninggalkan dosa-dosa (yang dilambangkan dengan perbudakan di Mesir) menuju penebusan melalui Sakramen Pembaptisan (yang dilambangkan dengan Laut Merah). Dalam Sakramen Pembaptisan umat Kristen percaya mereka mati bersama Kristus dan bangkit bersama Dia.
Berikut, "When You Believe", adalah lagu pujian yang dinyanyikan oleh bangsa Israel yang dipimpin oleh Miriam (kakak Moses) dan Zipporah (istri Moses) ketika Allah menunjukan kuasa-Nya melepaskan mereka dari kejaran tentara Pharaoh setelah menyeberangi Laut Merah yang diambil dari OST "The Prince of Egypt".


Miriam:

Many nights we've prayed
With no proof anyone
could hear
In our hearts a hopeful song
We barely understood
Now we are not afraid
Although we know there's much to fear
We were moving mountains
Long before we knew we could
There can be miracles
When you believe
Though hope is frail
It's hard to kill
Who knows what miracles
You can achieve
When you believe
Somehow you will
You will when you believe

Zipporah:

In this time of fear
When prayer so often
proved in vain
Hope seemed like the
summer birds
Too swiftly flown away
Yet now I'm standing here
With heart so full
I can't explain
Seeking faith and
speaking words
I never thought I'd say

Miriam & Zipporah:

There can be miracles
When you believe (when you believe)
Though hope is frail
It's hard to kill (it's hard to kill)
Who knows what miracles
You can achieve (you can achieve)
When you believe
Somehow you will
You will when you believe...

Hebrew children:

A-shi-ra la-do-nai
ki ga-oh ga-ah

(I will sing to the Lord, for He
has triumphed gloriously)
A-shi-ra la-do-nai
ki ga-oh ga-ah

(I will sing to the Lord, for He
has triumphed gloriously)
Mi-cha-mo-cha
ba-elim adonai

(Who is like You, oh Lord,
among the celestial)
Mi-ka-mo-cha ne-dar-
ba-ko-desh

(Who is like You,
majestic in holiness)
Na-chi-tah v'-chas-d'-cha
am zu ga-al-ta

(In Your love, You lead the
people You redeemed)
Na-chi-tah v'-chas-d'-cha
am zu ga-al-ta

(In Your love, You lead the
people You redeemed)
A-shi-ra, a-shi-ra, a-shi-ra...
(I will sing, I will sing,
I will sing)

Hebrews:

There can be miracles
When you believe
Though hope is frail
It's hard to kill (it's hard to kill)
Who knows what miracles
You can achieve
When you believe
Somehow you will
Now you will
You will when you believe

Miriam & Zipporah:

You will when you believe

Hans Zimer (1998)
Performed by Sally Dworsky (Miriam) & Michelle Pfeiffer (Zipporah)

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"The Children of Noisy Village"

In this gently humorous tale, Astrid Lindgren takes us through a year in the lives and customs of six Swedish children: Lisa (who is the narrator), Anna, Britta, Karl (Lasse), Bill (Bosse), and Olaf (Olle) living on agroup of three farms in the countryside. This episode tells how Easter is celebrated with genuine joy in simplicity

Now I'm going to tell you about last Easter in Noisy Village.
On Easter Eve, Mommy and Daddy were going to the evening service in the church in the big village, so they let Karl and Bill and me have an egg party at our house. Mommy own the Noisy Vilalge chicken farms, as I said before, and so we have agreat many eggs. Bill thinks his Albertina lays almost all the eggs.
We ate supper in the kitchen. The table looked beautiful with a blue cloth and our yellow Easter plates. There were birch branches in a vase, and Karl and Bill and I had painted all the eggs red and yellow and green. Eggs should be those colours all the time, I think, because they look so nice. We had written verses on the eggs.

Anna you must east this in a flash,
Or you might get corned-beef hash,


it said on one of the eggs. Karl had written that verse, but Bill didn't think it was very good.
"Who ever thought of giving anyone corned-beef hash for Easter?" he said.
"How do you know what people might have thought of giving for Easter?" said Karl.

This is an egg for Ann,
Instead of frying pan,


"Do you think it's better?" he asked
Bill didn't think so. Anyway, we didn't ahve time to change the verse because just then Britta and Anna and Olaf arrived. At supper we had a race to see who could eat the most eggs. I could only eat three, but Olafate 6
"Albertina is a good hen," Bill said when we had finished. Afterward we were going to hunt for the Easter eggs filled with candy which Mommy had hidden. Every Easter Karl and Bill and I each get a large egg filled with lots and lots of candy. But this year Mommy said that if we would be satisfied with eggs that were a little smaller, she would buy some for Britta and Anna and Olaf too. Then we could give them as a surprise at our party.Of course we wanted to do this. It was hard to find the eggs, Mommy had hidden them so cleverly. Mine was in teh cupboard where we keep the pots and pans. It was made of silver with little flowers. Inside there was a little chicken made of almond paste, and lots of candy
We were allowed to saty up as long as we wanted to, since it was Easter Eve. Agda was out with Oscar, and we were alone in the house, so weturned out all the lights and palyed hide-and-seek in the dark. We counted, "Eeny, meeny, miney, mo," and Bill was the first one to be blind-folded. I found a good hiding place in the dining-room window behind the curtain. Billtiptoed right by me several times but he didn't find me.
But Britta was the one who found the best hiding place of all. Daddy's rubber boots stood out in the hall,a nd above them hung the big coat that he wears when he drives to the dairy with milk. Well, Britta climbed down in the boots ansd wrapped the coat around her. When we couldn't find her, we turned on all the lights and all of us hunte for her but we still couldn't find her. The we called, "You're free to come out!" But she just stood there, quiet as a mouse. Daddy's boots and coat looked just as usual, so how could we dream that Britta was inside them?
"Perhaps she is dead and gone forever," said Olaf.
The we heard a giggle inside the coat, and Britta stepped out, wearing Daddy's big boots. She wanted to play Puss in Boots, but Anna said it was time to go over to Grandfather's and make eggnog. So we did.
We took eggs and sugar and glasses to Grandfather's room. Grandfather was sitting in his rocking chair in front of the fire, and he was very glad when we caem. We sat down on the floor in front of the fire and whipped eggnog very hard so that it splashed around us. Anna whipped Grandfather's for him because he couldn't see to do it himself. I told him about my Easter egg made of silver with little flowers.
Then Grandfather told us about the olden days when children didn't have any Easter eggs filled with candy. Do you know that one Easter, when Grandfather was a little boy, it was so cold that his daddy had to use an axe to break the ice on the barrel of water that stood in the kitchen? And there were no eggs to cheer him up! Poor little Grandfather!

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Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002)

Easter eggs! Easter eggs!
Give to him that begs!
For Christ the Lord is arisen.

To the poor, open door,
Something give from your store!
For Christ the Lord is arisen.

Those who hoard, can't afford-
Moth & rust their reward!
For Christ the Lord is arisen.

Those who love freely give-
Long & well they may live!
For Christ the Lord is arisen!

Eastertide, like a bride,
Comes & won't be denied.
For Christ the Lord is risen.

A traditional Russian Easter carol
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"The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe"

This story by C. S. Lewis is a Christian allegory of human's salvation throughout history. This episode tells how 4 Pevensie children from our world: Peter, Susan, Edmund, & Lucy discover a magical world called Narnia beyond a magic wardrobe in an English village manor where they have all been taken refuge from the hostility of war that has wrecked their London home. It is always winter in Narnia because the White Witch has usurped the power. Their only hope is to let Aslan the Great Lion to come & restore the peace & glory of Narnia. When later Edmund turns traitor but repents afterwards, Aslan gives his own life to save him, & not only him because by his death Aslan is raised to a greater power that saves even the lives of all Narnians.

A great crowd of people were standing all around the Stone Table & though the moon was shining many of them carried torches which burned with evil-looking red flames and black smoke. But such people! Ogres with monstrous teeth, and werewolves, and centaurs...cruels & hags & incubuses, wraiths, & horrors, efreets, sprites, orknies, wooses, & ettins...& right in the middle, standing by the Table, was the White Witch herself.
A howl & a gibber of dismay went up from the creatures when they 1st saw the Great Lion pacing towards them, & for a moment even the Witch seemed to be struck with fear. Then she recovered herself & gave a wild fierce laugh
"The fool!" she cried. "The fool has come. Bind him fast!"
Lucy & Susan held their breaths waiting for Aslan's roar and his spring upon his enemies. But it never came. 4 hags grinning & leering, yet also (at 1st) hanging back & half afraid of what they had to do, had approached him.
"Bind him, I say!" repeated the White Witch. The hags made a dart at him & shrieked with triumph when they found that he made no resistance at all. Then others- evil dwarfs & apes- rushed in to help them, & between them they rolled the huge Lion over on his back & tied all his four paws together, shouting & cheering as if they had done something brace, though had the Lion chosen, 1 of the paws could have been the death of them all. But he made no noise, even when the enemies, straining & tugging, pulled the cords so tight they cut into his flesh. Then they began to drag him towards the Stone Table.
"Stop!" cried the Witch. "Let him 1st be shaved!"
Another roar of mean laughter went up from her followers as an ogre with a pair of shears came forward & squatted down by Aslan's head. Snip-snip-snip went the shears & masses of curling gold began to fall to the ground....
"Muzzle him!" said the Witch. Even now, as they worked about his face putting on the muzzle, 1 bite from his jaws would have cost 2 or 3 of them their hands. But he never moved. This seemed to enrage all that rabble.... For a few minutes the 2 girls could not even see him- so thickly was he surrounded by the whole crowd of creatures kcking him, hitting him, spitting on him, jeering at him.
At last the rabble had ahd enough of this. They began to drag the bound & muzzled the Lion to the Stone Table, some pulling & some pushing. He was so huge that even when they got him there it took all their efforts to hoist him on to the surface of it. Then there was more tying & tightening of cords,
"The cowards! The coweards!" sobbed Susan "Are they still afraid of him even now?"
When once Aslan had been tied (& tied so that he was really a mass of cords) on the falt stone, a hush fell on the crowd. 4 hags, holding 4 torches, stood at the corners of the Table. The Witch bared her arms...then she began to whet her knife. It looked to the children, when the gleam of the torchelight fell on it, as if the knife were made of stone, not of steel, & it was of strange & evil shape.
At last she drew near. She stood by Aslan's head. Her face was working & twitching with passion, but his looked up at the sky, still quiet, neither angry nor afraid, but a little sad. Then , just before she gave the blow, she stooped down & said in a quivering voice, "Now who has won?"
The children did not see the actual moment of the killing. They couldn't bear to look & had covered their eyes....

C. S. Lewis (1898-1963)
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"The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe"

In the previous story once the evil White Witch has killed Aslan, she musters all her forces to march against the human children and all good creatures of Narnia. She thinks she has won the battle. Susan & Lucy think so too as they wait through the long dark night. But the promise of morning & new life is close at hand....

As soon as the wood was silent again Susan & Lucy crept out into the open hill-top. the moon was getting low & thin clouds were passing across her, but still they could see the shape of the Lion lying dead in his bonds. Down they both knelt in the wet grass & kissed his cold face & stroked his beautiful fur- or what was left of it- & cried till they could cry no more & then again were silent. At last Lucy said, "I can't bear to look at the horrible muzzle. I wonder could we take it off?"
So they tried. After a lot of working at it (for their fingers were cold & it was now the darkest part of the night) they succeeded. When they saw his face without it they burst out crying again & kissed it & fondled it & wiped away the blood & the foam as well as they could. It was all more lonely & hopeless & horrid than I know how to describe.
"I wonder if we could untie him as well?" said Susan presently. But the enemies, out of pure spitefulness, had drawn the cords so tight that the girls could make nothing of the knots.
I hope nobody who reads this story has been quite as miserable as Susan & Lucy were that night; but if you have been- if you've been up all night & cried till you have no more tears left in you, you'll know that there comes in the end a sort of quietness. You feel as if nothing was ever going to happen again. At any rate that was how it felt to these 2 girls. Hours & hours seemed to go by in this dead calm, & they hardly noticed that they were getting colder & colder. But at last Lucy noticed 2 things. 1 was that the sky on the east side of the hill was a little less dark than it had been an hour ago. The other was some tiny movement going on in the grass at her feet. At 1st she took no interest in this. What did it matter? Nothing mattered now! But at last she saw that whatever-it- was had begun to move up the upright stones of the Stone Table. Now what ever-they -were were moving about on Aslan's body. She peered closer. They were little grey things.
"Ugh!" said Susan from the other side of the Table. "How beastly! There are horrid little mice crawling over him. Go away, you little beasts!" She raised her hands to frighten them away.
"Wait!" cried Lucy, who had been looking at them more closely still. "Can you see what they're doing?"
Both the girls bent down & stared
"I do believe..." said Susan. "But how queer! They're nibbling away the cords!"
"That's what I thought," said Lucy. "I thik they're friendly mice. Poor little things- they don't realize he's dead. They think it'll do some good untying him."
It was quite definitely brighter by now. Each of the girls noticed for the 1st time the white face of the other. They could see the mice nibbling away; dozens & dozens, even hundreds, of little field mice. At last, 1 by 1, the ropes were all gnwed through....
The girls cleared away the remains of the gnawed ropes. Aslan looked more like himself without them. every moment his dead face looked nobler, as the light grew & they could see it better.
I the wood behind them a bird gacve a chuckling sound. It had been so still for hours & hours that it startled them Then another bird answered it. Soon there were birds singing all over the place.

C. S. Lewis (1898-1963)

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"The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe"

Can Death really claim Aslan for its own?

Susan & Lucy walked to the eastern edge of the hill & looked down. The 1 big star had almost disappeared. The country all looked dark grey, but beyond, at the very end of the world, the sea showed pale. the sky began to turn red. They walked to & fro more tiems than they could count between the dead Aslan & the eastern ridge, trying to keep warm; & oh, how tired their legs felt! Then at alst, as they stood for a moment looking towards the sea & Cair Paravel (which they could now just make out) the red turned to gold along the line where the sea & the sky met & very slowly up came the edge of the sun. At that moment they heard from behind them a loud noise- a great cracking, defeaning noise as if a giant had broken a giant's plate.
"What's that?" said Lucy clutching Susan's arm.
"I- I feel afraid to turn round," said Susan. "Something awful is happening."
"They're doing something worse to him," said Lucy. "Come on!" She turned, pulling Susan round with her.
The rising of the sun had made everything look so different- all colours & shadows were changed- that for a moment they didn't see the important thing. Then they did. The Stone Table was broken into 2 pieces by a great crack that ran down it from end to end; & there was no Aslan.
"Oh, oh, oh!" cried the 2 girls rushing back to the Table.
"Oh, it's too bad," sobbed Lucy "They might have left the body alone."
"Who's done it?" cried Susan. "What does it mean? Is it magic?"
"Yes!" said a great voice behind their backs. "It is more magic." They looked round. there,s hining in the sunrise, larger than they had seen him before, shaking his mine (for it had apparently grown again) stood Aslan himself.
"Oh, Aslan!" cried both the children, staring up at him, almost as much frightened as they were glad.
"Aren't you dead, dear Aslan?" said Lucy.
"Not now," said Aslan.
"You're not- not a-?" asked Susan in a shaky voice. She couldn't bring herself to say the word 'ghost'. Aslan stooped his golden head & licked her forehead. the warmth of his breath & a rich sort of smell that seemed to ahng about his hair came all over her.
"Do I look it?" he said.
"Oh, you'real, you're real! Oh, Aslan!" cried Lucy, & both girls flung themselves upon him & covered him with kisses
"But what does it all mean? asked Susan when they were somewhat calmer.
"It means," said Aslan, "that though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she didn't know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. but if she could have looked a little further back, into the stilness & the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. she would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack & Death itself would start working backwards...."

C. S. Lewis (1898-1963)


"Faust"

"Faust" karya pujangga Jerman Johann Wolfgang von Goethe adalah kisah perjalanan dan konflik batin manusia yang mempertanyakan keberadaan dan tujuan hidupnya. Kisah ini sangatlah sulit dimengerti karena mengandung nilai falsafati yang tinggi oleh karena itu cuplikan berikut ini hanyalah episode saat Faust yang bermaksud menenggak secawan racun untuk mengakhiri hidup yang dianggapnya absurd mengurungkan niatnya ketika mendengar dentang lonceng gereja yang menandakan fajar hari Paskah menjelang

Faust: ...kugadaikan akal waras, kesehatan, bahkan kehidupan.
Haruskah Faust binasa, jatuh dalam ketiadaan?
Ya. Dengan hati ringan.
Dia tidak lagi peduli. Ah! Saatnya mengangkat cawan.
Bagi hembusan nafasku yang terakhir dalam cahaya matahari pagi kuangkat cawan.

Diangkatnya cawan dan didekatkannya ke bibirnya. Tiba-tiba terdengar dentang lonceng gereja. Sayup-sayup terdengar madah.

Para bidadari: Kristus telah bangkit! Terampuni sudah dosa. Bersoraklah surga, bergiranglah dunia.
Kristus telah bangkit!

Faust: suara apakah gerangan yang menjauhkan bibirku dari cawan?
Surgakah yang telah memperingatkan agar tidak kuambil jalan yang sesat jika dunia ini mesti kutinggalkan?
Haruskah kucapai gerbang kristal lewat kematian yang mengerikan?
Betapa kurindukan sukacita karena iman yang telah lama kutinggalkan.
Masih kuingat betapa dengan iman fajar hari Paskah kunantikan.
Bermadahlah lagi surga. Bernyanyilah bagi manusia yang tak berharga seperti diriku.
Kenangan akan masa kecil yang suci kembali ke bumi membawaku.

Para santa: rempah-rempah kami siapkan bagi Dia yang kami agungkan.
Kami bebat dengan kafan dan kami kuburkan.
Ah! Tetapi Kristus tidak kami temukan.

Para bidadari: Kristus sudah mulia.
Terberkatilah yang mencintai-Nya.
Menanggung derita bersama-Nya.

Para Rasul: menang sudah, hidup dan mulia.
Kristus Dikau kami rindukan.
Hamba-hamba-Mu yang di dunia masih harus menderita.
Kebahagiaan surga-Mu kami dambakan.

Para bidadari: Kristus telah bangkit!
Dari penjara dosa Sang Pemenang keluarlah.
Hai kubur bersukalah!
Tunjukan cinta pada-Nya.
Panjatkan permohonan pada-Nya.
Wartakan kemuliaan-Nya.
Kristus telah bangkit!

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
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"The Selfish Giant"

Although not directly related, Easter is almost always associated with spring. With the arrival of spring, also coming the promise of a new life, which is exactly the very message of Easter. In this story by Oscar Wilde there's an allusion of spring & Easter though it is by no means a religious story

Every afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children used to go and play in the Giant's garden.
It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass. Here and there over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars, and there were twelve peach-trees that in the spring-time broke out into delicate blossoms of pink and pearl, and in the autumn bore rich fruit. The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in order to listen to them. "How happy we are here!" they cried to each other.
One day the Giant came back. He had been to visit his friend the Cornish ogre, and had stayed with him for seven years. After the seven years were over he had said all that he had to say, for his conversation was limited, and he determined to return to his own castle. When he arrived he saw the children playing in the garden.
"What are you doing here?" he cried in a very gruff voice, and the children ran away.
"My own garden is my own garden," said the Giant, "any one can understand that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself." So he built a high wall all round it, and put up a notice-board.

TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED!!!

He was a very selfish Giant.
The poor children had now nowhere to play. They tried to play on the road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they did not like it. They used to wander round the high wall when their lessons were over, and talk about the beautiful garden inside. "How happy we were there," they said to each other.
Then the Spring came, and all over the country there were little blossoms and little birds. Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it was still winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom. Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass, but when it saw the notice-board it was so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again, and went off to sleep. The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost. "Spring has forgotten this garden," they cried, "so we will live here all the year round." The Snow covered up the grass with her great white cloak, and the Frost painted all the trees silver. Then they invited the North Wind to stay with them, and he came. He was wrapped in furs, and he roared all day about the garden, and blew the chimney-pots down. "This is a delightful spot," he said, "we must ask the Hail on a visit." So the Hail came. Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates, and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go. He was dressed in grey, and his breath was like ice.
"I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming," said the Selfish Giant ;( as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold white garden, "I hope there will be a change in the weather."
But the Spring never came, nor the Summer. The Autumn gave golden fruit to every garden, but to the Giant's garden she gave none. "He is too selfish," she said. So it was always Winter there, and the North Wind, and the Hail, and the Frost, and the Snow danced about through the trees.
One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some lovely music. It sounded so sweet to his ears that he thought it must be the King's musicians passing by. It was really only a little linnet singing outside his window, but it was so long since he had heard a bird sing in his garden that it seemed to him to be the most beautiful music in the world. Then the Hail stopped dancing over his head, and the North Wind ceased roaring, and a delicious perfume came to him through the open casement. "I believe the Spring has come at last," said the Giant; and he jumped out of bed and looked out.
What did he see?
He saw a most wonderful sight. Through a little hole in the wall the children had crept in, and they were sitting in the branches of the trees. In every tree that he could see there was a little child. And the trees were so glad to have the children back again that they had covered themselves with blossoms, and were waving their arms gently above the children's heads. The birds were flying about and twittering with delight, and the flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing. It was a lovely scene, only in one corner it was still winter. It was the farthest corner of the garden, and in it was standing a little boy. He was so small that he could not reach up to the branches of the tree, and he was wandering all round it, crying bitterly. The poor tree was still quite covered with frost and snow, and the North Wind was blowing and roaring above it. "Climb up! little boy," said the Tree, and it bent its branches down as low as it could; but the boy was too tiny.
And the Giant's heart melted as he looked out. "How selfish I have been!" he said, "now I know why the Spring would not come here. I will put that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then I will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the children's playground for ever and ever." He was really very sorry for what he had done.
So he crept downstairs and opened the front door quite softly, and went out into the garden. But when the children saw him they were so frightened that they all ran away, and the garden became winter again. Only the little boy did not run, for his eyes were so full of tears that he did not see the Giant coming. And the Giant stole up behind him and took him gently in his hand, and put him up into the tree. And the tree broke at once into blossom, and the birds came and sang on it, and the little boy stretched out his two arms and flung them round the Giant's neck, and kissed him And the other children, when they saw that the Giant was not wicked any longer, came running back, and with them came the Spring. "It is your garden now, little children," said the Giant, and he took a great axe and knocked down the wall. And when the people were going to market at twelve o'clock they found the Giant playing with the children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen.
All day long they played, and in the evening they came to the Giant to bid him good-bye.
"But where is your little companion?" he said "the boy I put into the tree." The Giant loved him the best because he had kissed him.
"We don't know," answered the children; "he has gone away."
"You must tell him to be sure and come here tomorrow," said the Giant. But the children said that they did not know where he lived, and had never seen him before; and the Giant felt very sad.
Every afternoon, when school was over, the children came and played with the Giant. But the little boy whom the Giant loved was never seen again. The Giant was very kind to all the children, yet he longed for his first little friend, and often spoke of him. "How I would like to see him!" he used to say.
Years went over, and the Giant grew very old and feeble. He could not play about any more, so he sat in a huge armchair, and watched the children at their games, and admired his garden. "I have many beautiful flowers," he said, "but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all."
One winter morning he looked out of his window as he was dressing. He did not hate the Winter now, for he knew that it was merely the Spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting.
Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder, and looked and looked. It certainly was a marvellous sight. In the farthest corner of the garden was a tree quite covered with lovely white blossoms. Its branches were all golden, and silver fruit hung down from them, and underneath it stood the little boy he had loved.
Downstairs ran the Giant in great joy, and out into the garden. He hastened across the grass, and came near to the child. And when he came quite close his face grew red with anger, and he said, "Who hath dared to wound thee?" For on the palms of the child's hands were the prints of two nails, and the prints of two nails were on the little feet.
"Who hath dared to wound thee?" cried the Giant "tell me, that I may take my big sword and slay him!"
"Nay!" answered the child, "but these are the wounds of Love."
"Who art thou?" said the Giant, and a strange awe fell on him, and he knelt before the little child.
And the child smiled on the Giant, and said to him, "You let me play once in your garden, today you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise."
And when the children ran in that afternoon, they found the Giant lying dead under the tree, all covered with white blossoms.

By Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
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"Jesus the Son of Man"

This inspired portrayal of Christ by Khalil Gibran through the eyes of those who knew Him gives a unique insight of His many characters as wise, tolerant, enigmatic, & even heretic & cruel. This 1 is narrated by St Mary Magdalene on His Resurrection 30 years after the event.

Once again I say that with death Jesus conquered death, and rose from the grave a spirit and a power. And He walked in our solitude and visited the gardens of our passion.
He lies not there in that cleft rock behind the stone.
We who love Him beheld Him with these our eyes which He made to see; and we touched Him with these our hands which He taught to reach forth.
I know you who believe not in Him. I was one of you, and you are many; but your number shall be diminished.
Must your break your harp and your lyre to find the music therein?
Or must you feel a tree ere you can believe it bears fruit?
You hate Jesus because someone from the North Country said He was the Son of God. But you hate one another because each of you deems himself too great to be the brother of the next man.
You hate Him because someone said He was born of a virgin, and not of man's seed.
But you know not the mothers who go to the tomb in virginity, nor the men who go down to the grave choked with their own thirst.
You know not that the earth was given in marriage to the sun, and that earth it is who sends us forth to the mountain and the desert.
There is a gulf that yawns between those who love Him and those who hate Him, between those who believe and those who do not believe.
But when the years have bridged that gulf you shall know that He who lived in us is deathless, that He was the Son of God even as we are the children of God; that He was born of a virgin even as we are born of the husbandless earth.
It is passing strange that the earth gives not to the unbelievers the roots that would suck at her breast, nor the wings wherewith to fly high and drink, and be filled with the dews of her space.
But I know what I know, and it is enough.

Khalil Gibran (1883-1931)
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"Minggu Paskah di Georgia"

Paskah minggu itu terasa lain di Georgia. Ada kerumuan ribuan masa di alun-alun kota. Tak ada istimewa di jalan-jalan. Masih nampak sepeti biasa. Patung Lenin, gambar palu arit, kumis Stalin masih tegak terpampang menambah kebekuan Geogia. Tampak di atas panggung merah, seorang kamerad muda dengan suara berapi-api dengan gelegar suara bariton, tengah berkotbah Paskah.

"Saudara-saudara para kamerad. Hari ini hari Paskah kata orang-orang tua hari ini Tuhan bangkit! Suatu ajaran yang menggelikan .. tipuan kuno... bagaimana mungkin Tuhan bangkit... sedang keberadaannya saja tidak bisa dibuktikan!!!"

Para pendengar nampak tak beraksi...muka-muka seperti biasa dingin kaku bosan tak ada harapan

Sang kamerad melanjutkan kotbahnya, "Para kosmonot kita telah mendarat di bulan...dan apa kata mereka? Di sana tidak ada surga, Tuhan, ataupun neraka. Di sana hanya ada planet bintang dan bulan".

Lagi-lagi para pendengar diam tak berreaksi sesekali ada yang menggosok-gosokkan tangan mengusir dingin kejam.

Melihat tidak ada reaksi, sang kamerad mengubah taktik. lalu berkata, "Saudara...jika di antara kalian di sini ada yang bisa membuktikan bahwa TUHAN benar-benar ADA, akan saya beri hadiah...bukan telur Paskah tapi sekantong uang. Tapi kalau kalian gagal, maafkan, aku akan menembak kepalanya untuk keberanian dan kebodohannya!"

Hadiah dan ancaman ternyata tidak seimbang.. para pendengarpun memilih diam saja...sampai akhirnya seorang lelaki muda dengan langkah pelan naik ke panggung...orang-orang mulai gemerisik....

Sang kamerad tampak tak suka dengan kehadiran sang pemuda, namun dengan senyum dipaksakan dia pun berkata, "Hai pemuda, aku harap kau tidak main-main karena nyawamu adalah taruhannya. Sekarang cepat buktikan pada semua yang ada di sini kalau TUHAN benar-benar ADA!"

Dengan langkah tenang pemuda itu berjalan ke tengah panggung dan tepat di depan pengeras suara, sejenak dia melihat ribuan kerumunan...lalu mendongak ke atas...dan kembali memandang kerumunan...lalu dengan suara lantang dia berseru, "Christos Anesthi!!! Alithos Anesthi!!! Hallelujah!!! Hallelujah!!!"

Tiba-tiba ribuan masa seolah terhembus udara hangat dan serentak mereka menyambut teriakan sang pemuda dengan penuh antusias, "Hallelujah!!! Hallelujah!!!"

Sang kamerad pun pingsan.....
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Thine Be the Glory

Thine be the glory, risen, conqu’ring Son;
Endless is the victory, Thou o’er death hast won;
Angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,
Kept the folded grave clothes where Thy body lay.

Reff:
Thine is the glory, risen conqu’ring Son,
Endless is the vict’ry, Thou o’er death hast won.

Lo! Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb;
Lovingly He greets us, scatters fear & gloom;
Let the Church with gladness, hymns of triumph sing;
For her Lord now liveth, death hath lost its sting. Reff

No more we doubt Thee, glorious Prince of life;
Life is naught without Thee; aid us in our strife;
Make us more than conqu’rors, through Thy deathless love:
Bring us safe through Jordan to Thy home above. Reff

Words by Edmond Louis Budry (1884), music by Georg Frederic Handel (1685-1759) from the opera "Judas Maccabeus"
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"The Vicarage Children"

In this story by Lorna Hill, drawn on her experiences, we meet the King children: the grown-up Alison (Ally), Miranda (Mandy) the narrator, Michael who loves archaeology, & the enchanting & mischievous Christopher (Binny) who is the baby of the family. They're the children of a country vicar in the northernmost part of England, Northumberland. Together they have lots of fun & many adventures, including celebrating Easter in north country style in the beautiful springtime.

Every year we decorate the church for Easter, & the whole village takes part. trouble awaits anyone who, either by chance or design, decorates anyone else's special bit! Lady Logan always puts the lilies on the altar; member of the Mother's Union fill the deep stone window-ledges with daffodils; Miss Todd & her friend Miss Hindhead are responsible for the pulpit. The lectern is in the form of a carved wooden eagle with the Bible resting on its outspread wings, & old Mrs MacCromarty, who has decorated it for the last 40 years, always manages to ahve a bowl of late flowering hyacynths which she balances on the top of its head, giving it a very rakish appearance, rather like an Edwardian lady in a new hat!
The decoration of the font is always left for us at the vicarage to do, & this means Ally & me, because my mother is too busy looking after Binny, & Michael isn't much of a hand at decorating, though he's useful for fetching & carrying, & filling the vases & jars with water. Occasionally (just to keep him happy) we let him do a vase on his won, but Michael's idea is to ram as many flowers as he possibly can into his vase, & the result isn't very artistic.
The morning of the decoration we went collecting moss, which she stripped off the old walls near the vicarage. We picked all the flowers we could find, & it's wonderful they mounted up. I'm afraid we picked most of the snowdrops off the Centurion's Grave, & the winter aconite that grows nearby.
"It's in a good cause," said Ally, when I demured. "He's dead & can't feel any more. But think of the pleasure his snowdrops are going to give to the worshippers when they see them on our font." I noticed she didn't include Miss Todd's pulpit, or Lady Logan's altar, but actually I didn't think myself that they could compare with our font whenh we had finished it. We covered the stone steps with deep soft moss, still wet with melted snow, & we stuck the little flowers we had gathered out of our agrden (snowdrops, aconites, primroses, & crocuses) into it in groups, so that they looked just as if they were going there. With the moss being wet we knew they wouldn't wither. we put several large vases of daffodils, mixed with sprays of blackthorn, catkins, & pussy willow in the middle of the wooden cover. When we had finished, we stood back & admired our work.
"It's the best ever!" I said. "But of course Easter is late this year, so there're plenty of flowers."
When we got home, there was 1 more thing I had to do- something I always do, not only at Easter, but at Whitsuntide & Christmas too. This was to clean my father's private Communion set. It is the most lovely thing you ever saw, & my father loves it more than anything else he possess. It is very tiny, & made of Georgian silver. The chalice is only 2 inches high, & there is a tiny paten, & a silver-topped leather case, lined with dark red velvet. Unfortunately, some time ago, a moth got in, & ate a little hole in a corner of the lining, & & although I ahve darned it as well as I could, it still shows a bit.
We all went to early service on Easter Morning. My mother had persuaded Alma to come & look after Binny & cook breakfast for us when we returned. Alma was quite agreeable, because there is no television on Sunday mornings. I wore my white confirmation frock & veil, because it was my 1st communion, & Michael's nails, despite his having digged the backyard the day before, were really clean for once.
After the service, my mother stayed behind to speak to Mrs MacCromarty, who was making a pot of hot tea for my father, as it was too far for him to come home to breakfast between the services. We 3 children walked on up the hill, feeling very contented & good in our insides, as you do when you have been to church, especially early in the morning.
"I thought the church looked lovely," I said. "Especially our font. None of the flowers was the least bit withered. When you think of how long Lady Logan took to do her altar, & the help she had, with the gardener cutting all the flowers for her, & various other people on the Grange staff running around with bowls, & jugs, & wire netting, & what not, it's marvellous how we 2 managed to do our font without any fuss."
"There were 3 of us," put in Michael indignantly. "You're forgetting me! I was fetching & carryingg just as hard as any of Lady Logan's helper- harder, I should think!"
"Of course you were," Ally & I added diplomatically. "We couldn't possibly ahve done it without all the moss you agthered, Michael dear, & the vases & water & things for the daffodils."
"I should just think not," said Michael....

Lorna Hill (1902-1991)
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