By BISHOP REUEL MARIGZA
(Continued from April 20 issue)
ALONE and forsaken, Jesus bore it all. But the story does not end there. That Sunday, the women followers went to the tomb where Jesus was laid and they found another kind of emptiness there! They were so distressed because the tomb was empty! The Lord is gone, he has forsaken them! But their sorrow and agony would soon turn into joy!
And when Jesus appeared to his disciples who were locked down in fear, his first words were, “Peace be with you!” – assuring them that with faith, there is hope for a better tomorrow, where love can be proclaimed and lived out.
This Easter of year 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic caused by COVID-19, let us declare that this is not the end of the story –
* that with faith in the God who is with us, we
shall overcome, even as our Lord overcame death!
* that there is hope for a better tomorrow.
* and that there is love that can conquer fear; love that can be shared around.
John reflecting on this said in 1 John 3:16: “We know love by this, that he
laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers
and sisters.
Like the disciples who were transformed by the resurrection, let us not return to the life as it was. We can build a better world, a more humane, just and compassionate one! After this, we should not return to business as usual, but walk in the newness of life where love, justice and peace prevail.
One of my favorite hymns is “Through the Love of God Our Savior.” Its 2nd and 3rd stanzas read:
Though we pass through tribulation, All will be well!
Ours is such a full salvation,
All, all is well!
Happy still in God confiding,
Fruitful if in Christ abiding
Holy through the Spirit’s
guiding. All must be well!
We expect a bright tomorrow, All will be well!!
Faith can sing through days of
sorrow, All, all is well!
On our Father’s love relying,
Jesus every need supplying,
Or in living or in dying, All
must be well!
Yes, my sisters and brothers, all will be well!
Happy Easter! Happy Resurrection Day! God bless! Amen!
(This is a reposted Easter
message of Bishop Reuel Marigza, general secretary of the National Council of
Churches in the Philippines. – Ed.)/PN
