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Some words are hard to believe. If you have a student at home who doesn’t want to, starts wearing bad grades, and keeps promising to improve, the willingness to believe him will decrease.
Faith needs reasonable reasons. Otherwise, it would be fatalism or a fixed idea that borders on a psychological disorder. Reasons for faith in ordinary life are necessary and possible. Whoever fulfills what he promises and has the prerequisites for some activity, we will probably entrust it to him without fear if he undertakes it.
Without reliability, there is no trust, and without trust, there is no faith.
When we read about John’s Passion, we are surprised by the details of Jesus’ way of the cross. Whoever listened to it or watched the film or saw the Stations of the Cross play will experience strong emotions. He will feel the horror and pain of the suffering that a person can inflict on another.
The evangelist takes care to report the details. Apparently with the intention that we understand that this story touches everyone personally. It is different to read a report about a traffic accident and to be a participant in it. Looking at bloodied faces, bent sheet metal, and experiencing the shock of running firemen and paramedics, it makes waves with everyone.
If we experienced an inner movement while listening to John’s passion, then we know that Jesus died on the cross. His death was long and painful because he took our sins to the cross.
Without Good Friday, there would be no Easter Sunday.
The Son of God did everything so that we would believe in him. During his three-year pilgrimage, he healed, preached, and forgave. He spoke of the kingdom of God, which came to God’s people in him. In particular, his miracles proved that he is not a folk healer, but the Son of God, because he not only restored health but also forgave sins, which he could not do as an ordinary person.
In this way, he showed that his mission was greater. The superficial crowds did not understand this, the apostles knew more. Jesus often spoke in images, almost mysteriously. Those closest to him suspected that his life would have a special ending. Pain replaces life. They learned the details of Jesus’ predictions firsthand in his last hours.
“Isn’t this another meta-fairy tale with a happy ending that has helped generations to stay from going crazy in this cruel world?”
The empty tomb seems like a bad joke to everyone at first. Was he so dangerous that he shouldn’t even have a grave? Or did he have such fanatical followers that they wanted to have him for themselves at any cost and build some new cult?
Personal meetings confirm what the empty tomb indicated. As in the event of the Annunciation, here too the angel will say the decisive word: “He has risen as he said!” The disciples had many reasons to believe this, and except for Thomas, they believed immediately. Personal meetings with the Risen One confirmed this belief.
Life is stronger than death. Forgiveness and mercy are more powerful than sins and guilt.
He got up as he said. We believe it too. Not only that. We have a personal experience with the Risen Christ. In baptism, in the Eucharist, in the sacrament of reconciliation, in prayer, and in self-sacrificing love that comes to us through others. Everyone can believe in Jesus. According to Matthew’s Gospel, when they heard this news at the woman’s grave, according to the evangelist, “they ran to tell his disciples with fear and joy.”
When we struggle with ourselves, and our sins, and somewhere in the distance there is a spark of hope, we are also afraid. We ask if that hope is real if we are not living in some illusion or chimera. At the same time, we are happy to have discovered it.
The angel’s words “He rose as he said” are good to hear because they bring hope. At the same time, fear remains hidden in the heart. From own incapacity, weaknesses, and fears. Skepticism and cynicism are lifelong partners for many. There is no place for faith in a better tomorrow. A doubting question may arise: Isn’t this another meta-fairytale with a happy ending that has helped generations not to go crazy in this cruel world?
A single actual encounter with the Risen One is enough to know that it is a reality. That the Hope of Easter is not a fairy tale, but a story of pain and death that turns into life. It is enough to listen to the word of God, to attend the service. Pray.
We believe in Jesus because he is the Son of God. The stories about his life, as they are described in the New Testament texts and as the church thinks about them in the first centuries in a world where it was a minority, are the message of God who saves. They remind us that the Lord has never abandoned his creation.
On the cross, Jesus freed us from the slavery of sin and death and reconciled us to the Father. He rose as he said!
May his resurrection forever remind us that life is stronger than death.
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