As more news of shocking atrocities comes out of the war in Ukraine, the message of Easter hope has never been needed more than it is now.
As we celebrate this weekend the passion and resurrection of Christ, what can these mean to us now, in this crisis-ridden world?
We celebrate Easter Sunday only after first remembering what happened on Good Friday. The Son of God himself was captured and killed by those in power. Deciding to have and keep faith in God, deciding to continue to hope are choices we make in the face of shocking realities, in spite of them, not because there is any trick to avoiding them.
The Easter story of Christ’s resurrection from the dead is a story about defeating the power of suffering and death to crush the human spirit. We celebrate the possibility of hope even in the face of the truly shocking, because God is, and God’s love for the world is, the reality and the truth that endures, as we believe.
In the current crisis there are inspiring signs that love, not greed or the will to power, is the truly genuine human reality. When we see what an outpouring of friendship and compassion for the Ukrainian people which this crisis has provoked, it strengthens our hope. We are able this Easter even in the terrible mess the world is in, to proclaim with joy: “Alleluia Christ is risen!” and with our Ukrainian brothers and sisters: “Aliluya Khrystos voskres! “
