// Easter Message:
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| Fr. Sebastian Thottippattu |
Easter,
the Celebration of love’s Triumph-
Fr. Sebastian Thottippattu
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| love’s triumph- |
The
one truth that any careful reader of the New Testament cannot fail to notice is
the paradoxical eagerness of Jesus towards his suffering and death. In speaking
to Nicodemus Jesus makes plain the purpose of his life: “God so loved the world that he sent his only Son that whoever believes in him may not perish
but may have eternal life…As Moses
lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the son of man be lifted up so
that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (Jn.3:14-16). Jesus repeats the same words again before he
is about to embark on his final journey to Jerusalem. When the Greeks come
seeking to meet him he knew that his hour had come and in their presence he
proclaimed: “…Now sentence is being passed on this world; now the ruler of this
world is to be driven out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw
everyone to myself” (Jn.12: 31-32). Jesus speaks of his death as a means of
drawing people to himself because he had spoken of it as something that he
would embrace voluntarily out of love. “No one takes it from me but I lay it
down of my own free will” (Jn.10:18). Through love he meant to draw people to
him but it was a love that hurt him to the core. St Mother Teresa spoke of love
that should hurt if it is true. The cup of suffering that Jesus would drink offering
no resistance was the perfect proof of that. It was not the cruelty of the
cross that made it redemptive but the immensity of love behind the acceptance
of it. In the metaphor of the seed that falls to the ground and dies producing
much fruit, Jesus was drawing a perfect parallel to his life and death that
would bring about new life for all.
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| The sufferings and death of Jesus |
The
sufferings and death of Jesus had eternal value because there was pure and
unconditional love underlying it. Devoid of love, suffering is evil and is to
be avoided but when love qualifies it, all suffering can turn to joy. St.
Francis of Assisi bears testimony to it in his sermon on perfect joy. Love
always calls for sacrifice and it hurts and hurts terribly sometimes. As a
matter of fact, the prospect of the suffering awaiting him, made Jesus cringe
and pray at Gethsemane, “Father, if it is your will, remove this cup from me;
yet not my will but your will be done” (Lk.22:42). His human nature shrank
before pain but his love for his Father and for every human being on earth overcame
its bitterness. It is the same with every human being who is confronted with
pain. However, the love that one brings into it can transcend the bitterness of
any suffering and make one capable of embracing it. We have concrete examples
of it in mothers who can endure any trouble for the sake of their children. It
is known that Blessed Rani Maria, the Franciscan Clarist Sister who was
martyred in India, uttered the name of Jesus at every stab wound her assassin inflicted
upon her, because she was in love with Jesus to whom she had surrendered her
life on entering the convent. Anything else would have drawn a different
reaction from her. What made her blessed was not the cruelty of the suffering
she endured but the love that sustained her through it. This is the power of
the resurrection that every Christian, nay every human being, has been
bequeathed at the cross. St. Paul speaks of it in his letter to the Galatians:
“I am crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live but it is Christ who
lives in me. I now live my life by faith in the Son of God who loved me and
gave himself for me” (Gal.2:20). This ought to be the state of every Christian
who has taken his/her Christian life earnestly.
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| The victory of Easter is the victory of love. |
The
victory of Easter is the victory of love. Anywhere and everywhere where love
triumphs over evil and pain, the power of the resurrection is witnessed. Easter
is an open invitation to the whole of humanity to embark upon loving to the extent
of losing oneself for the sake of another. “There is no greater love than this
that one gives one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn. 15:13). Everyone who is on
the path of love acts by the power of the resurrection. We can all truly
exclaim: “Christ is Risen, Alleluia!” if we let Jesus Christ the Risen Lord, accomplish
his death and resurrection in us through the occurrences of daily life that
bear the shadow of the paschal mystery.
HAPPY EASTER!!
