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This is Holy Week in the Christian calendar, starting with the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (April 13) and concluding Easter (April 20 this year) with His resurrection.

For more than two thousand years, it has been a traditional season of hope, a time when humans of all faiths, and all degrees of faith, may, in modern terms, hit their reset buttons, perhaps making an effort to take their faith more seriously, or start something new to them, or jump into something they know they need to do but don鈥檛 know how to go about it.

In advance of Holy Week, many area churches held Easter pageants or cantatas of The Easter Story. People who attended the performances, or perhaps participated in them, expressed emotional reactions. Words such as 鈥渕oving,鈥� 鈥減owerful,鈥� 鈥渦plifting鈥� are used to express how the musical and dramatic performances impacted people spiritually.

鈥淗allelujah! Christ is risen!鈥� may have profound, deep feelings as people, regular churchgoers or occasional ones, listen to and watch performances of The Easter Story.

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John record the story, including the betrayal and arrest of Jesus in Gethsemane, His facing the Sanhedrin (the Jewish ruling council), being handed over to Pontius Pilate (the Roman administrator), facing Herod, and His crucifixion.

Easter is the highlight, not only of Holy Week and the Christian year, but also of human history, regardless of one鈥檚 faith. With different, but not conflicting, details, the Gospels all record what happened on Easter Sunday.

After observing (on Saturday) the Jewish Sabbath, or Shabbat in Hebrew, several women came to the tomb with spices to anoint the body. 鈥淏ut they found the stone rolled away 鈥� and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus,鈥� according to Luke 24 (New King James Version). 鈥淭wo men in shining garments [angels] said: `Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!鈥� 鈥�

The women who came to the tomb included Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, Salome. The names vary in the four Gospels. What is firmly consistent is the empty tomb. In Matthew 28, the angel says: 鈥淒o not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is Risen, as He said.鈥�

An important underlying part of The Easter Story is that it was, and is, God鈥檚 plan. The Old Testament Book of Daniel tells of the 鈥淪on of Man鈥� being the Messiah. Jesus himself used the term to emphasize His humanity.

At The Last Supper, Jesus and the 12 disciples ate the traditional Jewish Passover meal. That is a reminder that Jesus was a devout Jew and of the relationship of Christianity and Judaism.

Whatever one鈥檚 depth of faith, whatever one鈥檚 choice of church or denomination, the Easter story is inspiring.

The human spirit needs hope, which surely is the overarching message of Easter. May we all carry it in our hearts throughout the year.