This Easter, let us be bold in our hope
That the Lord is truly risen is a fundamental element of the Christian faith
THESE DAYS of bright blue skies and spring blossoms make it easy to identify with the Easter message. In this Jubilee Year of Hope, Easter reminds us we belong to such a positive and wonderful reality. Despite the turmoil of war in Gaza, persecution of Christians in Syria and economic uncertainty, Easter 2025 is a mighty gift.
This Easter of 2025 is especially meaningful. For the first time in years, Christians of the East and West – those following the Gregorian and Julian calendars – celebrate this holy day together on 20 April. What a beautiful sign of unity! It reminds us that the resurrection is not a gift for a few but for all. It bridges divides, heals wounds and calls us to be one family in Christ. Today, we join hands with believers across the world, proclaiming with one voice: ‘Christ is risen. He is risen indeed.’
‘He is not here, he is risen’ is the signal message which the women receive as they make their way to anoint this dead body of Jesus. That the Lord is truly risen is a fundamental element of the Christian faith.
The Old Testament readings at the Easter Vigil liturgical celebration are all about how God created every dimension of the cosmos as good and that when humankind drifted away from God’s original plan, God remained faithful. Throughout the centuries, God guided the faithful away from the path of oppression and persecution and domination towards that new liberty which would then be fully achieved in Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus came to save us, to liberate us for new life. Christianity is a faith of new life and of liberation.
Saint Paul tells us: ‘In baptism, we are joined with Christ’s death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we, too, might live a new life.’
Certain theologies spoke about freeing people from sin, but had developed a concept of sin and sinner which made it almost impossible for a sinner ever to feel himself or herself truly liberated. There were so many rules that many were left with a sense of scrupulosity, which left them trapped and oppressed by guilt and doubts. We had created a religion of fear, so much that even when we tried to live the good life, we were never left with a sensation of being free.
The Lord is truly risen. It is not an easy thing to believe. It defies rationality. We note in the various Gospel accounts how the disciples who head out to visit the tomb, head out to anoint a dead body and that when told, they find it hard to understand that Jesus is truly risen. Despite what they had heard from Jesus, after his death they found the idea of his rising from the dead almost impossible to believe. Rising from the dead seems impossible. But if Jesus has risen from the dead, his message to us is that with faith in him, even what seems impossible in our lives can be attained. Rather than a faith that imprisons us in our weakness, Christianity is a faith which opens horizons of possibility.
Saint Paul wrote: ‘As Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we too might live a new life.’ We are not called to reflect or discuss the new life. We are called to live the new life. The Christian cannot live at peace in a world where people are oppressed. If Christianity is a faith of liberation, then the Christian and the Church of Jesus Christ must be a place of real witness to the reality of the powers of darkness, which still today trap people in oppression.
None of us can claim to be free if we live immune to the fact of so much oppression and need for liberation. Freedom is not the privilege of the few; it is a call to take responsibility for all.
Too often, however, we acquiesce in watching oppression. Too often, the Church has fallen into the logic not of new life but of siding with power and conformity and safety. A Christian theology is always a theology of liberation. But it is not an ideology of liberation. True liberation theology is one which will never leave any politics happy.
Liberation is present in the Church through the presence of the Risen Lord, who enables us to live the dangerous and perplexing path of freedom. We should not be fearful of the fact that freedom may sometimes lead us in the wrong direction; it is oppression which always leads in the wrong direction.
So today, let’s live as Easter people. Let’s carry the joy of the resurrection into our homes, our workplaces, our communities. Smile at a stranger. Forgive someone who has hurt you. Get in touch with someone in need. The Risen Christ is alive in us, and his light shines through our acts of love. This Easter, let’s be bold in our hope, unshakable in our faith, and radiant in our joy.
