EASTER SUNDAY: Jesus Resurrected - Lord of Justice and Love
(republishing, copying, no restrictions)
By: Father Shay Cullen
Resurrection, life after death is the one bright shining hope of Christians, it is at the heart of faith and gives us inspiration to live well and follow the example of Jesus of Nazareth. He preached not only about life in the hereafter but a resurrection, a new life, in this world too. We can be redeemed from a wasted life of selfishness and saved from the influence of evil and sin.
Our mission will be to be a good Samaritan, ignore no human suffering, turn no blind eye, approve no evil by silence or consent, do it in friendship with Jesus Christ with a generous heart without asking to be rewarded.
It's hard for some Christians to see the good in Good Friday. We recall how Jesus, the personification of all that is good, loving, true and divine in the world was arbitrary arrested, imprisoned, tortured and beaten. He was given a kangaroo trial, a mockery of justice, condemned and then brutally executed. It's all too familiar today as we see tyrants and ´democratic dictators¡ steal elections and ascend to power and then crush and kill their critics.
It is always the defenders of the poor - the prophets that stand against the abuse of power and corruption that pay the price defending the truth. Sometimes with their lives. Today assassination squads don't bother with mock trials, the execution order comes from the top.
We are so accustomed to the image of the crucifix we tend to forget its real significance. Jesus, an innocent man, Son of God, preached tolerance, justice, forgiveness, non-violence, and love of neighbor. He established the rights and dignity for all, and yet they were not welcomed by the world for many centuries. His mission was misstated, his teaching misinterpreted. It's only in recent years that we see a true recognition and respect for these universal values. Yet not all nations respect them.
Jesus was unjustly framed up and branded a criminal and executed. They killed him because he declared that the poor, the outcasts, the slaves, the throwaway people, the wretched of the earth, are the most beloved of God. He preached that they would inherit the earth, the kingdom of justice was for them, they would be equal to the rich, the powerful, and the elite. That angered the rulers, it was a subversive message, heretical, it threatened to overturn the established order, it called for power sharing and they knew it had to be quashed.
The poor were wretched because they were sinners and could never find favor with God the religious rulers taught. Jesus challenged that and said anyone can be forgiven and have new life and fully participate in the kingdom where God alone is the ruler.
Today in repressive societies, even in the so - called democratic Philippines, where the poor go hungry, unemployed and form organizations and unions they are branded subversives or communists and their leaders arrested, framed up, jailed. Others are arbitrary executed by assassination squads.
It takes courage to follow Christ when tyrants reign and their evil ways have to be courageously challenged with the truth. Jesus gave his life to liberate the world from such evils and he is still alive and with us, leading and inspiring all who believe in him and his message. Each of us can experience a resurrection, when we give new life to those that are dying for the lack of love, food, justice, freedom and truth.
Our friendship and oneness with God begins in the here and now by finding God in others. Then our spirit will live on forever. He is with the poor, the unjustly imprisoned, the hungry, the victims of exploitation and abuse and wants us to be there with them, to help and to heal, through them we will meet him.
If we can't be there physically then we can be
present in solidarity, sharing our love and compassion and resources.
When we make friends with Christ and put aside selfish desires we will
have a new life, a spiritual resurrection. We will rise from being
spiritually dead to a new experience of working for justice and truth
and giving life to others.
