In a world racked by hatred and violence, where the weak and the defenseless are routinely massacred, it is often very difficult to believe in the goodness of men and their capacity for love. Yet, in my own life, I have been blessed to have met and worked with people, groups and communities that work unselfishly and untiringly to love and serve others and to make this world a more loving and caring place. I believe in love and goodness even in the face of all the hatred and violence there is in the world. This is what the Risen Lord is telling me: Goodness and love will always triumph over evil and hatred.
In a world plagued by so much pollution, where livable spaces are fast disappearing and even the climate is changing for the worse, it is very difficult to believe in the beauty and the seasonal rebirth of nature. And yet, every time I go on a hike or even just a walk around the neighborhood, I see the colors and the movements of plants, trees, flowers, tiny insects, birds and animals all straining to maintain all the beauty and the life that surround them – regardless of what care-less humans do. I believe in beauty and the life it sustains even in the face of the pollution and the wanton destruction that people are inflicting on our paradise. This is what the Risen Lord is telling me: Life and beauty are stronger that death and ugliness.
In a world drowning in lies, where falsehoods are peddled as facts and vices are extolled as virtues, it is very difficult to trust people and specially leaders to tell us the truth and for them to live by those truths. Yet, I only have to look at innocent children at play or listen to their conversation to realize that we were born to tell and live by the truth. I believe in the truth and in its power to change and guide our lives even in the face of the lies and falsities we are being enticed to live by. This is what the Risen Lord is telling me: Truth will set us free and will be the unerring guide to the good life.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me.
~ Psalm 118
When Jesus had risen, early on the first day of the week,
he appeared first to Mary Magdalene,
out of whom he had driven seven demons.
She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping.
When they heard that he was alive
and had been seen by her, they did not believe.
After this he appeared in another form
to two of them walking along on their way to the country.
They returned and told the others;
but they did not believe them either.
But later, as the Eleven were at table, he appeared to them
and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart
because they had not believed those
who saw him after he had been raised.
He said to them, “Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”
Mark 16:9-15