Easter 2010
+ Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney
4 Apr 2010
A priest friend of mine commented that Easter means more than the Easter Show.
He is right, of course, although I have nothing against the Show, which I attend each year and thoroughly enjoy.
Easter is a paradox, because it links Christ's return from death, celebrated on the Sunday, with his disgraceful execution by crucifixion, celebrated on the previous Friday, Good Friday.
Therefore Easter is more than the celebration of new life in a Northern Hemisphere spring.
The meaning of Easter cannot be demonstrated with mathematical certainty and cannot be argued from natural reason. We have to make a leap of faith to accept the word of the first Christian witnesses, Mary mother of Jesus, the apostles, Mary Magdalene, that the man who they had seen die on Mt. Calvary had escaped from his tomb and appeared to groups, of his closest followers.
He wasn't resuscitated after only appearing to die. He truly died to be briefly among the dead before he rose, conquering death.
While everyone saw him die, only a limited number encountered him in his risen state. Some such as Thomas, refused to accept the word of their friends and insisted that they see for themselves. Only when Thomas placed his hand in Jesus' wounds did he believe.
No such tests are available to us today. We are the children of generations of witnesses across nearly two thousand years. More Christian martyrs died in the twentieth century than any previous century.
In the pagan Roman Empire Christianity spread, not through military victories, but in spite of nearly 300 years of intermittent and increasingly vicious persecutions.
Christian goodness was contagious and their faith in Christ, for them the Son of God as well as the son of Mary, ennabled them to forgive their enemies and hope for eternity.
Community life was revolutionized. Marriage was for life, abortion and infanticide was forbidden, husbands had to love their wives as they loved themselves. An impossible challenge! Roman and foreigner, women and men, free man and slave, rich and poor had equal dignity.
The suffering were to be helped, not ignored or exterminated and indeed Christians taught that good could come from suffering.
That is why we find no Christianity without the Cross, no Easter Sunday without Good Friday, no risen Christ without the wounds from the nails and crown of thorns.
Happy Easter to everyone.
