13 years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, my wife and I introduced our two teenage kids to New York City during Spring Break. It was really cold that week. How cold? So cold that it snowed while we watched the Orioles play the Yankees. Highlights included Broadway shows (The Lion King and Hair Spray); a Knicks-Pistons game at Madison Square Garden; hot pastrami on rye at Roxy Deli on Times Square; attending the David Letterman Show; sweeping city views from the “Top of the Rock”; and late night jazz with Bill Frisell at the Village Vanguard. On Easter Sunday, we tried to attend services at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on 5th and East 51st but there was no room at the inn. So we walked a mile or so and stumbled upon St. Bartholomew’s, aka St. Bart’s, on Park Avenue. We were seated in a balcony pew where we warmed up and heard a rousing message delivered by Reverend William McD. Tully. I grew up the son of an American Baptist minister, so I had heard plenty of Easter Sunday sermons. But this one in particular was quite moving in its simplicity and I remember it to this day. He said, “The message of Easter is this: LOVE wins; we all matter; God and I care about you.” On this COVID-19 Easter Sunday, our world is gripped by fear and the disenfranchised are bearing the brunt of illness and death. Now is the time for people of all faiths and beliefs to come together and CHOOSE LOVE OVER FEAR and extend that love to others who need our help.
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