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WPCNR NEWS & COMMENT. By John F. Bailey. April 18, 2014:

He died 2,000 years ago. There was no CNN, no internet, no newspapers,radio or television. No Twitter or Facebook.

Nevertheless the message of the man who died on Calvary spread around the world without mass communication.

His followers, twelve of them were so devoted to His message of love and code of behavior they became the first pacifist activists who spread a message the man they called their Lord had preached to them.

He is Jesus of Nazareth.  He had no last name.

Today He is now known all over the world for the message he delivered.

Whether you believe He is the Son of God, or not, he ranks as one of the foremost influences on mankind.

His selfless acts of embracing lepers, the poor, those who sinned were unique.

Such compassion for the downtrodden was unheard during the time He lived.

It was a time of slavery. No human rights. No care for the sick. When cities were razed and populations slaughtered or enslaved.

Jesus of Nazareth introduced a new philosophy that spread throughout the world after His death by crucifixation because the community leaders of his own people thought him a threat to their power.

If you live by his philosophy of foregiveness you are a person at peace with yourself. If you accept those who are different from you without  fear or prejudice, you are a force for spreading His message of peace towards others and good will.

I f you help the poor and the sick because you sympathize with them, you are following His way.

If you stand up for truth, point out what is wrong as He did with the Pharisees. You are doing his will.

If you go about doing good for the sake of doing good, you are following His virtue of selflessness.

Jesus of Nazareth’s message whether divine or a code of how we conduct our lives resonated with millions and it spread.

There is no denying He is one of the great philosophers of the human experience, kin to Socrates, the other giant of antiquity thought.

The above print of “The Return from Calvary” painted by Herbert Schmalz shows the last hours of Jesus of Nazareth’s crucifixation around 33 A.D. on Calvary Hill, “the place of the Skull” outside of Jerusalem late in the day He was crucified.

The description on the print describes the somber scene:

The darkness which was on the earth (during His suffering) is clearing away.

One long, dark cloud is hanging over the city like a pall.

The Virgin Mother, weighted down by fatigue and grief, knowing not wither she goes, is being led up some steps, toward “his own” home, by St. John and Mary Magalene.

In the distance on the top of Cavalry, you can make out the three crosses.

The grief so eloquently captured by this print depicts the very personal loss all of us endure when someone we love passes away because of all they did for us. Jesus of Nazareth was a human being who affects us to this day.

One of the great gifts of this man, Jesus of Nazareth, is the celebration of humanity and capacity to care and feel for others that aids persons whether they believe He was the Son of God or not. Or that you will have eternal life if you believe in him.

His philosophies of care, courage, compassion and benevolent action serve their practioners well because they leave a great personal satisfaction in the heart, the mind, and the spirit.

You do not have to second guess yourself, when you do what is right, humane, merciful, and serves the less fortunate without superiority.

The peace of mind of action is the least of the  great gift of Jesus of Nazareth whose death on the cross is marked this day.

If you act as Jesus did, you will be remembered by all you meet fondly and lovingly, and be comforted that you will live in memories of those you have  touched with your love and kindness and caring  for eternity to the end of the age.

His simple teachings have great power.

They give meaning to our mystery of life.

 

WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. from the Governor’s Press Office (Edited). April 17, 2014:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chairman Tom Prendergast, and Transit Workers Union (TWU) Local 100 President John Samuelsen today announced a tentative labor agreement to settle a 2-year-old contract dispute between the MTA and TWU Local 100. The tentative agreement protects fare payers while providing a fair and reasonable five-year contract to TWU Local 100’s 34,000 transit workers.

The contract retroactively covers 2012 and 2013, and settles contracts for 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Under the terms of the agreement, TWU workers would receive increases within the 2% cap that Governor Cuomo has achieved with state labor contracts (1% increase in each of the first 2 years, beginning with 2012, and 2% increases in the last 3 years).

Employees would pay an increased share of health care costs – increasing from 1.5% to 2% percent of the employee’s salary – but would receive important new benefits including paid maternity/paternity leave, coverage of health care for surviving spouses of deceased TWU retirees, and improvements to dental and optical benefits. 

The contract will have no impact on MTA fares and will be accommodated within revisions to the MTA financial plan. 

The tentative agreement is subject to approval by the TWU Local 100 executive board and ratification by the membership, and subsequent approval by the MTA board. 

“The transit system is the lifeblood of New York City, and the MTA employees are the ones that make the system work,” Governor Cuomo said. “They showed their dedication time and time again during Superstorm Sandy and its aftermath, working in difficult conditions to get the system up and running in record time. The resolution of this contract dispute is fair to transit workers, fiscally responsible for the MTA, and will have no impact on fares. I thank President John Samuelsen, who fights tenaciously for his members but also cares deeply about the system and its ridership, and Tom Prendergast whose lifelong dedication to the transit system made him the ideal leader of the MTA.”

TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen said, “This is a fair and equitable contract for transit workers. The agreement secures raises in every year of the contract, with full retroactive pay and provides for historic paid maternity and paternity leave, as well as important improvements to our membership’s healthcare, dental, and eye benefit package. The MTA is a vital part of this City and I am pleased to present a contract to the membership that recognizes their hard work, dedication, and service. I commend the hand of partnership extended by Governor Cuomo and I appreciate his leadership in helping bridge the divide and bring us to this contract agreement.”