An Easter reflection
I have been reflecting on some words about Easter of Michael Ramsay (1904-1988), Archbishop of Canterbury 1961-1974, whom I met in his old age. He wrote:
Christianity entered history because of the Resurrection. Without it, there would be no Christianity. And Christianity entered history as the religion of a crucifixion that was liberating and victorious.
Of course, at the time the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday did not seem liberating to his disciples. To them, it must have appeared that everything had gone unimaginably and catastrophically wrong. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had come to earth to love and save us. In return, mankind had done the worst thing imaginable: Christ had been shamefully executed on a cross.
However, unseen by the disciples, something wonderful was taking place. Hanging on the cross, Jesus Christ offered his life to God the Father in sacrifice to take away the sins of the world. God the Father accepted His only Son’s sacrifice. Three days later, Jesus rose victoriously from the dead in the Resurrection.
The point? Well, Jesus has dealt once and for all with evil, sin and death, and has opened the way to eternal to life to all who believe and trust in him.
I am reminded of St John, chapter 3, verse 6, the best know verse of the New Testament:
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
As Archbishop Ramsay rightly observed, the message of Christ’s Resurrection at Easter is truly liberating and victorious. The worst thing that could ever happen – the crucifixion of the Son of God – has happened, and God still loves us and wants us.
May I wish you all a happy and holy Easter 2023.
Father Robert.