Fulfillment is a real reason for joy and hope

I took pretty much all of last week to meditate on Christ’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection.  There were plenty of EWTN and TBN programs to help me, especially Saturday when 3 different movies were played to help me meditate.  Of course, Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ was one of them. I watched that one twice and found something new to focus on each time.   Another was, “The Final Inquiry”, about a Roman soldier’s quest to find the truth (or expose a lie) about Christ’s Resurrection.  It was pretty good, if not a little corny in spots.  The third short movie that kept me spellbound for an hour was called, “The Messiah Prophecy Fulfilled”.  Actor Nick Mancuso plays a skeptic who comes to believe Jesus is the Christ after a Jewish rabbi shows him that Jesus fulfilled all the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah.  It turns out that the Jewish rabbi is one of the men who encountered the Risen Christ on the road to Emmaus.  No wonder I found it interesting, huh?

Before Holy Week though, I was beginning to meditate on the difference (I think) between how we look at Christmas and Easter Sunday.  What got me thinking about it again today was when I had to go shopping for a few things for Mom.  I didn’t have a problem going anywhere today, because everything was open for business as usual!  Try to find that on Christmas Day—you can’t.  And yet, Easter is the reason Christ came into the world on Christmas Day!  We had to wait 33 years after the first Christmas to receive the greatest gift in the history of the world, our salvation from death!

So why do some businesses that are usually closed on Christmas Day stay open on Easter Sunday?  My guess—and I hope I’m wrong—is that Christmas Day has become more of a secular holiday than a religious Holy Day, and we can’t have any celebrations of Holy Days in  America any more, can we?

I think there is another subtle difference to Christmas and Easter that most of us miss.  I admit I’ve been as guilty as anyone of this, and I’m sorry for it.  I’ve been guilty of putting a different emphasis or meaning to the words “joy” and “hope” for each Holy Day, usually putting the greater emphasis on the words during Christmas.  In my “inner retreats” this Lent, though, I came to realize that while Christmas is indeed a reason for hope and joy, Easter Sunday makes the HOPE and JOY both present and eternal.     

“Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.” - 1 Peter 5:7

This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. It always has a calming effect on me, reminding me that I don’t have to worry (though I often do) about anything because God can and will take away all of my fears and my sorrow. It’s so comforting to know that God loves us so much.

There is a passage from the Psalms (Ps 16:1-2a and 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11)—“Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope”—that seems to fit very well with my current mood and I also find it uplifting and encouraging when life seems to be swirling around me, to know that God “will not abandon me to the grave.” This passage reminds me of how amazing God is and how he truly does fill me with joy.

This passage talks about how we should praise God because he will always be there for us and take care of us. “Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup.” God takes such good care of us. He comforts us and shelters us and, more than that, he gave us the greatest gift of all through the sacrifice of his Son. What an amazing gift. This brings me back to the current mood of Easter. Christ suffered so much on the cross, as did his Father in heaven, watching his Son die in such a way. We did nothing to deserve this gift and we will never be deserving of it, yet we have been given it freely, and all we have to do is love and trust God. It is so amazing to think about that. I think that, while this incredible gift of everlasting life is fresh in our minds, we should remember to thank God for it and to lift Jesus higher and higher.