Pastor fRank had done his Holy Week kick-off over at the Fairfax Ecumenical Chapel using young Reilly as an example from his group of theological students at the Temple of the Mystic Notion.

It was a typical elliptical sermonette about examples, good and bad, that leaven the various philosophic pillars of thought. And how wisdom is derived from experience and most experience is gained from sub-optimal decision-making.

According to Holly, the chat was typical fRank: some perspective on how we came to be in this peculiar time of volatility and how we might seek to impose some sort of peace on the Holy Week Ahead.

We have arrived at one of those curious moments on the human calendar when the majesty of the heavens is reflected in the human spirit as we accept the awakening of Spring. While many people are busy disagreeing with nearly everyone else, we all still pause at roughly the same time to consider how things change.

Not gradually, mind you. Not politely.

But suddenly.
Today our Christians celebrate a week of celebration, betrayal, death and resurrection. Across the parkway, our Jewish friends are preparing their tables. They will soon retell a story even older. Not about one man, but about a whole people walking out from under the grim weight of a power that had defined their lives.

Over on Columbia Pike, our Muslim neighbors will be finishing a different discipline. For a month, they have practiced restraint—of appetite, of impulse, of speech. And then, almost at once, comes joy. Food shared. Debts forgiven. Charity given before one celebrates oneself.

There is a rhythm to these expressions of faith and their common timing. Pastor fRank says it is worth noting, as we move through this momentous week. He puts it this way: “A great many of our fellow citizens—of different faiths, and some of none—are quietly marking the same underlying truths:

Things change.
Power shifts.
What looks permanent rarely is.”
He placed a palm gently on the black leather of the thick book on the table before him, “And occasionally- just occasionally- something broken returns in a form no one quite expected. I propose we enjoy the blossoms while they last.”

Then there was some discussion about what the brunch adult drinks might be for a sunny morning that seems intent on producing a day filled with promise for the real transition into the warmth of Spring.

Copyright 2025 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com