Easter Sunday 16.4.17 Good prevails
We need to know that the good prevails over the bad. It
happens in the movies; it needs to happen in real life!
One of our troubles is that we are surrounded by bad news. This
is accentuated by the media which is so efficient at picking up anything around
the world.
First thing in the morning I hear the news and that is
usually the worst bit of news that they can find. Any bombing, shooting,
accident, disaster. So the last thing I want to hear is the first thing I do
hear!
Then there is the personal news. Did you know that X died
suddenly? Or that so-and-so has cancer? And someone else had an accident? etc.
And this is all the time. Bad news travels quicker than
good.
It can wear us down, and can easily lead to a reduction or
even loss of faith.
Can we still believe and hope through it all?
As with so many aspects of our faith, appearances are not
all there is.
You could tell me ten bad things that have just happened,
and I can still say: Christ is risen alleluia!
This piece of news is true, and remains true, and cannot be
changed by any amount of time, or any amount of things going wrong.
There is a serene certainty in this, which consoles us, and
even makes us joyful.
Easter Sunday is the greatest feast of them all. It is
compulsory to be joyful today!
This feast puts everything in perspective. Though the bad
news items might outnumber the good, the weight of the good news greatly
exceeds the bad.
St Paul: I
reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory to come, that shall be revealed in us (Rm 8,18).
I don’t expect the 6 o’clock news to say every day that
Christ is risen.
Yet, if they did say it, it would be as ‘new’ each time. It
would qualify as ‘news’ - always true, relevant, and applicable to the way we
feel, and the way the world is.
We hold the strongest card, which can beat all the other
cards in the world. You can play your bombings and massacres, and I can play
the Christ card, which beats all the others.
God has power to control His own creation. He allowed us to
think that on Good Friday He was finished, defeated. It would look like He had
failed. Whatever He was trying to do, it looks like He has not done it.
That He could so easily and comfortably emerge from the tomb
in His own time and own way, shows He was always completely in control. I have power
to lay [My life] down: and I have power to take it up again. (Jn 10,18).
Sunday morning is the time He chose, thus giving us every
Sunday a feast of the Resurrection, and Easter Sunday the primary one of all.
We have to be consoled by this. We have the winning card up
our sleeve the whole time.
We have access to the infinite power and goodness of God,
which begin to work on us here and now, enabling us to have a first taste of
the Resurrection, overcoming sin, and discovering holiness - a liberating
experience.
We need to cultivate this experience, not just today, but
every day, enabling us to feel better and to live better.
There are many things which could drag us down, but we rise
above them, clinging to this best news of all.
We can reflect that if enough people would believe in the
Resurrection there would be a lot less bad news! Everyone would be living in an
orderly and productive manner. Till we see better days we can cope with an
imperfect world, and a perfect God.
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