Victory of life over death, love over hate, and good over evil.
Every year we celebrate Easter reminding us of Christ’s victory over death. I have lately been talking of “God is Love”, and though some may have questions about religion and God, I think that most people believe in love and oppose hatred and all it means.
With the idea of “God is Love”, it is Love that creates all that exist, it is Love itself that becomes incarnate in the person of Jesus, and it is the spirit of Love that gives hope for the time to come. For me Love is the driving force of all that is good, beautiful and positive. It is the power that overcomes evil and all of its negative force. When we speak of Love being God, Divinity itself, it brings us all together under one banner of reaching out to let Love flow in all its various expressions of good will, mercy and compassion. It also unites us against the forces of evil that though may seem victorious, is destined to perish and fall.
In the person of Jesus, we see a great resemblance of all that goes on in the world through history, the present and what can be expected in the future. Jesus is the one who preaches justice, forgiveness and compassion. He is the one who does not only speak about the greatest love of all, being the giving of one’s self so that others may have life, he does it himself by giving his own life. Then God cannot be suppressed by the power of evil, or the Evil one, and so He wins over death through His resurrection… the victory of life over death, and God being Love, it is the victory of Love over death, over hatred, over evil.
Unfortunately in the world today we tend to lose hope in front of all evil and death which we see happening around us so often. We feel that there is no real remedy and that the powers of evil cannot be overcome. We need to believe more than ever in the power of the resurrection of life over death, of love over hate, and good over evil. I believe that the world needs to unite under the one flag of good will in action, preached by all, from religious leaders, lay educators, philosophers, political leaders, all the way through to parents in every family, and reaching out to every human being. We need to transcend and free ourselves in the first place from the enslaving obsessions of materialism, power and false freedom that only lead to self destruction and of those whom knowingly or not, we oppress.
Nature itself, knowing its origins in Love, teaches us good lessons in this respect. The sun rises over the good and the bad, and flowers still blossom in the midst of all the chaos around. While people kill, Love is still born with every new life. The power of life over death is the mystery of the resurrection in our lives today.
This little writing may have sense or may not have. It does not follow logics and the tangibility that the material world demands. We all know it that love make us do things that do not always make sense. It is above all logic and common sense. It makes us do things we never even thought of doing whatever the sacrifice, whatever the cost. If only each one of us find the courage to act over the good will we bear inside, be lead by the power of Love and do something good for humanity. It is then that we become heralds of love, life and peace. That is the greatest commandment of all, the love of God and love of neighbor. Love in action is God in action. God alive is Love alive in our hearts and in the air we breath. It is the resurrection that goes on and on until the end of time.
We all want and need to live life to the full, and it all depends on the resurrection of Love in our hearts. May our lives bless and be blessed by Love this Easter and we’ll be the first to find new life.
Happy Easter!
Fr. Alex