Human Hope: Easter Sunday
Today is Good Friday and in two days it’s Easter Sunday which is the cause of all human hope! It is Jesus who is our hope. Why do I say that? Because ever since original sin, there has been darkness, there has been this “shadow” lurking within the human heart. We have been in enslaved to death, decay, and at times it can just be, “Well, that’s just life. There is no happy ending. Just death and decay.” Sometimes we're overwhelmed by the sin in this world. The loneliness. The abandonment. The rejection and anger. It can be hopeless and we might want to just throw in the towel and give up. But Jesus, God Himself, perfect Love entered into our darkness our feelings of abandonment. He entered into our pain, our suffering, our loneliness, and He crucified it, buried it, and transformed and resurrected it. He is our hope. St. Paul says if we are conformed to Jesus's death we will be conformed to His resurrection. This is our hope.
This morning I saw a little clip from Lord of the Rings that I want to share with you because I think it's a little glimpse into the human drama that we're in. Frodo's carrying the ring (we all know the story) and in this little clip, he's just burdened by it and says to his friend Sam, “I'm done. I can't do this Sam.” Sam's like, “We shouldn't even be here. You know Frodo I remember all of those great stories that were told. Stories that had darkness and danger.” He goes on to say, “In those stories, you didn't want to know the ending because how could it even be happy? But Mr. Frodo, it's a passing thing. This shadow we live in. Darkness will pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer…I get it Mr. Frodo. People in all of those stories they could have given up. They could have turned back but they didn't…Because they were holding on to something.” Frodo being tired and fatigued said, “Uhh…what were they holding onto Sam?” Sam looked into Frodo’s eyes and with strength said, “That there's some good in this world Mr. Frodo and it's worth fighting for!”
I remember watching that this morning and it was just hopeful. There is good in this world! That we can have hope! Why? Because of the person Jesus Christ. This Easter Sunday is a sign of our hope. I once heard it said that God created us without our consent but in order to redeem us he needs our consent. This weekend I invite you to reflect on what part of your heart have you been hiding from Jesus, from God, from the light, from the sun? I invite you to open it up to the light. Open up the shadows of your heart to the resurrection. We need to enter into Jesus's resurrection daily and this weekend is a great reminder of that. That He is our hope. Who do you know in your life that needs hope and might be struggling? I invite you to send them a message. Give them a call and say something to them that breathes hope into their life. That they're worthy. They're worth fighting for. Jesus is a sign of that! He wants to redeem us and heal us we just got to enter into it so I hope you have a good Friday and a Happy Easter this Sunday. God bless!