For every season there is a reason
And while we may dwell in the Euphoria
Of one or another, we oft the meaning forget;
And fail to get the Kpim of the message
One thing with life is that it tends to move in cycles. One thing about cycles is that they seem to have no starting and end points; They just keep moving. The earth keeps rotating and revolving, making us go through the same processes over and over: the mornings, the several evenings, the winters, the long summers, the harsh Harmmattans - with these times and Seasons we move. However, one thing stands out - we never get to RELIVE any passing time - every moment comes but once, and then forever is gone. We may have seen many seasons of Christmas, or Lent, or Easter, but each each one comes with a different package. We only get to savour fully the contents of the parcels if we get to open the gifts before us.
That time is here again, when we have surest temerity to shout Alleluia. Why we shout thus though, is food for another meal; but how convinced we are as Christians singing the Great Alleluias and chanting the Psalms of victory, and crying the words of the Cantatas, certainly plays a huge role in giving meaning to our individual Easter seasons.
REASON FOR THE SEASON
True joy is what comes after the sorrows of the trying times. Listen to the psalmist who says: "At night dwells tears, but with dawn comes joy". Darkness covers so many things - especially the evils that thrive there in. The darkest times in the life of Christ, and indeed in the life of the Church unborn was that Holy Thursday Night - made holy only by Christ's pure act. That was the night evil rejoiced over the good. That night, the hope of salvation started to fade like the moon at its wan, or like a lamp without oil. That night, the Good was caught in the shackles of evil; evil took flesh and became a judge over the Good. And that same night, the friends fled and left Him to suffer alone; and so, the darkest shadow was cast over the works of light. Christ would speak, but prehistorically through the pen of the Psalmist; "Even a friend in whom I have trust; who ate my bread...has turned against me". And that night, this was fulfilled with just a kiss.
Sometimes in life, we toil with no apparent hope of success, the the clouds are darkest. At those times, life seems like an endless chain of many nights. Then we could consider giving up on the good; and walking the paths below. We have come at cross-roads at times in life, and many people here know that feeling - sometimes strong enough to make one doubt everything they'd believed in. When faced with such situations, we remember Christ who was silent without, but who prayed fervently within.
The soldiers of the Night, victory they cried,
When the battle still was on.
The armies of Light had run and hid in shame
While the Lord of Hosts hung unclad on the tree,
An object as of mockery and failure.
The drama of the night ended on the Cross with death; or rather in the tomb with decay. However, a bigger drama was unveiling all through the trial times. The death of Christ came as a blow to all who followed Him, especially to His closest friends. Those Apostles, with fear and trepidation were locked behind the doors of the Upper Room, the Scene of the Last Supper. What they did there, we weren't told; but one could imagine a feeling of loss in the air, or some horrible thoughts that made it through the narrow gates of their minds. But because "the love of Christ pushes us", they still visited the tomb - especially the women folk-, at least to go and cry. And so it came to be that through those women, the greatest News in History was relayed.
From dwelling in the darkest prison
Our souls with Christ have risen,
From the grasp of sin to Glory.
And the rock of decay is split asunder.
"You will not leave my soul among the dead, nor let Your Beloved know decay"
After the crucifixion, death and burial, hope dwindled more with each passing moment, hour and day. It was almost three days, and Peter, in encouraging all, may have run short of words. What need was there going to the tomb, only to see the corpse of Him who promised you life. The men were reluctant to make that sojourn again. But the women persisted; and it paid off. From worrying about who would move the stone for them, to panicking about who had removed the body of the Master; then to the ineffable joy that sprung from within when she saw the risen Christ. And that joy catapulted her back to the Upper Room. That joy too, which comes with dawn, brought Peter and John to their heels. That joy replenished the hopeless hearts, and exiled fear. That is the joy we celebrate today, two millennia later, but with a little less passion, as mere pump and pageantry. We seem to have become used to seasons, and so each that comes around seems to us a mere repeat. And so we miss the message, and lose the meaning; and let slip from our fingers, the blessings potent in each Easter, or Lent, or Christmas.
We are not just Christians by name; we should be Catholics and Christians in heart and by deeds. This too, is a time for sober reflections, on what this season means to our individual lives; how it affects our daily dealings; and how it makes us change the faces of, not just the earth, but the faces of other hearts. The world which gropes in darkness depends on us for light, and through us, that light should shine. Until we realize this, we shall grope with the world in an endless tunnel, and depthless ocean of darkness.
Spread the Light of Easter beyond frontiers! Let's bear witness to the risen Christ; and tell the world that salvation comes from cross, that same cross they hold in Disdain.
And We have escaped to yonder...
