Thinking Anew:WITHOUT EASTER we almost certainly would never have heard of Jesus of Nazareth. It is fascinating to consider how different things would be today if he had just been one of the many thousands crucified by the Romans and quickly forgotten.
Think of the wonderful buildings, the great cathedrals, churches and other foundations that exist because he was and is still remembered.
Think of the cultural treasures that enrich our lives every day – in literature, art and music – because he is remembered. And perhaps most importantly of all, think of the values that inform our everyday living and the quite extraordinary range of good works that impact daily on people’s lives because he is remembered. And he is remembered because of Easter.
What, then, is Easter really about? At one level it is simply this: Christians believe that God raised Jesus from death after he had been brutally tortured and killed and that in so doing he has shown us that death need not be the final chapter of the human story, that a beyond dimension exists. And this conviction will give millions across the world hope and joy tomorrow as they “worship with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven” in the Easter liturgies. Departed loved ones are remembered in a positive way, in the belief that they and we have a future because he is remembered.
But Easter is more than a future hope. The New Testament record of the first Easter represents Jesus as present rather than belonging only to the past or the future. He was alive; he was known and experienced after his death by his followers, albeit in a new way. And more importantly his appearances were not restricted to a brief period 2,000 years ago, but are grounded in the experience of Christians down the centuries. At the same time St John’s Gospel acknowledges that not all Christians will have that same sense of presence: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe”. Easter, then, is about a Jesus who continues to be and who is active in people’s lives today.
We live in a world where it is often extremely difficult to have hope; a world where it would be very easy to give in because of the many terrible things we see going on around us, not least in the church itself. That, in many ways, was the initial reaction of the disciples on the first Good Friday – they simply gave up and it was some time before they began to think differently, not because they had second thoughts, but because Jesus made himself known to them and gave them the confidence they needed to face a hostile world.
The writer of the Letter to the Ephesians was in no doubt as to what they were up against. “For we are not contending with flesh and blood but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness . . .” This was written some years after the death and resurrection of Jesus because the world was and still is a dangerous place where truth and justice often seem to be on the losing side.
The Franciscan theologian Leonardo Boff, working in Brazil, was aware of this when he wrote: “The resurrection of the crucified Jesus shows that it is not meaningless to die for other human beings and God. In Jesus’s resurrection, light is shed on the anonymous death of all those who have lost out in history while fighting for the cause of justice and ultimate human meaningfulness . . . Thanks to his resurrection Jesus continues to exist among human beings, giving impetus to their struggle for liberation.”
He was criticised, somewhat unfairly, for being preoccupied with worldly matters and neglectful of spiritual matters, but he speaks here of an Easter hope of profound significance that embraces those generous souls the world has forgotten. If Easter is relevant for you and me today, it is relevant for everyone at all times.
“The best news the world ever had came from a graveyard.” – Anon.
GL