We wish a blessed Easter to all who celebrate the victory of their savior over earthly death. The story caps off a three-day story in which the man who came to save the world ultimately was betrayed, tortured and executed by government officials who saw him as a threat. The Scripture readings of the day recount how even his closest and most devoted followers didn’t understand the events of the previous few days:
“For they did not understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead.”
To achieve victory over death, death first is necessary.
This Easter comes at a time of continued political unrest in our own country, and across the world. Americans are slowly dropping public restrictions that were a reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, and debating if we’re dropping them too soon, too fast. Just months after U.S. troops finally exited more than to decades of war in Afghanistan, we see Russia’s invasion and devastation of Ukraine, and debate whether or not our refusal to be pulled back into military action overseas might inspire other countries such as China and North Korea to launch a new era of imperialism and human suffering. We see increasingly hostile activity from our own officials against refugees and elements of trade at our border, wondering why those officials are so willing to inflict so much pain upon others.
Many people ask why the Savior had to come in the first place. Why was salvation necessary? If God is merciful, then why do bad things happen to good people?
However, philosophers agree that good cannot exist without evil. As the Easter story makes clear, in order to defeat death, one first must die.
Our own history shows us that good times often lead to bad. America’s economic success after World War II, it can be argued, did not create the Utopia that many had hoped for — and many immigrants still seek. In reality, however, our success gave way to our own imperialism, political apathy, social malaise and economic predation. Success and challenges, thus, became cyclical.
When things are too good we tend to become complacent and greedy. And someday, we know not when, we’ll need another savior to return and set us right. Jesus Christ himself said he would have to return.
Let us therefore acknowledge the necessary evil, but always take heart that despite hard times and suffering, goodness always has ultimately won out over evil. Life has defeated death. That knowledge feeds our hope, and our determination, to continue pursuing justice and goodness even in the darkest times.
As we see the pain and difficulty affecting our world, and our own lives, let us remember the message of Easter, “that he had to rise from the dead,” in order to achieve victory. From that let us draw hope and confidence that we can overcome our difficulties and challenges, and achieve our own resurrection from dark times. Let that faith in ultimate victory inspire whatever effort is necessary to make that happen.
