There are certain moments in our history that act as a prism, giving glorious reflection to the daily drudgery of our lives. In these moments, man's religious, social and cultural institutions converge. Easter is one of these moments, when our eyes are cleansed to the truly beautiful possibilities of life.
Dating back to the origins of Christianity itself, Easter is based in the belief that Jesus Christ rose from the dead in the days following his crucifixion and that through his triumph over death, sin and the devil, the gateway was opened for all believers to move on to the eternal kingdom of God. By remembering and worshiping the resurrection, man is able to identify himself with something sacred and eternal.
For many, this sacred time allows a reprise from the mundane course of everyday life. Easter speaks to our origin and destiny. Its worship allows us to participate in the idea of something eternal, a future kingdom of peace. The celebration of Easter transcends our daily routine precisely because it evokes the eternal striving in all of us.
The truly redemptive power in the celebration of Easter, then, is its ability to evoke the resonant power of "eternal." The word eternal appeals to us. It captures our imagination. It is a fixture in our popular culture, where science-fiction television shows succeed because they allow us to vicariously transcend the dull expansion of time.
Now, let's say for a moment that you are a betting man. You are unsure as to whether you believe in God, whether you can grasp the eternal. The question is, what have you got to lose by living a virtuous and honorable life that embraces the commandments? The obvious answer is that you have nothing to lose, but the "eternal" to gain. The opportunity exists for you to lift your eyes after death and make it into eternal life. On the other hand, if you lived a life of recklessness and your eyes lift after death, you will have spent your life readying your soul only for eternal damnation. My point is straightforward: You have nothing to lose by betting on God.
Now, consider for a moment, the misery of those who do not embrace the eternal kingdom of God during their time on Earth. Such people muddle about in a state of perpetual instability. In the simplest sense, they lack an absolute moral point of reference. Without this foundation, they merely live from whim to whim, moving neither toward nor away from anything, finding enjoyment only in fleeting moments of beauty. This is as true of the criminal as of the atheist. For a man without a sense of God's eternal kingdom is but half free, and will always be a slave to the loneliness and desperation of slow-growing time.
The celebration of Easter, with its emphasis on the eternal, reminds us that if a man places his passion in beauty, what happens when beauty vanishes? If he spins his life around material objects, what happens when these objects crumble? If he places his faith in a loved one, what happens when that loved one dies? It is only when we place our faith in God, that we create for ourselves an immutable foundation. Only then do we have an absolute moral reference point that fixes our lives with meaning. Only then do we move on to the eternal.
As we move toward the Easter holiday, let us take a moment and not only recall the sins of our recent past, but the eternal kingdom that awaits us. Isn't it amazing, that you can live forever in the kingdom of heaven?
After all, every saint has a past but, thank God, all of us sinners have a future.
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