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| Sunday, 31 March 2002 |
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Peace - the message of Easter by E. Weerapperuma The Birth, the Death and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ has one fundamental theme in common and that is the message of peace. At the Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, the Sacred writer wrote that the Heavenly Angels sang "PEACE to men of goodwill" and on the day of Resurrection Jesus greets his disciples "Peace be with you". The joy of Easter is different in its nature from that of Christmas. Yes, it is different indeed as it comes at the conclusion of the long and doleful 40 days in Lent. " Christ has risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept"(1 Cor.15:20). The Resurrection of Christ brings new hope and courage to those who live in fear, despair and anxiety. He greets his Apostles " Pax Vobis cum - Peace Be with You". Peace which surpasseth understanding leads us to triumph over ignorance and Christ on this Easter Sunday repeats to all looking for lasting peace: " Peace I leave with you my friends". We declare daily during the Holy Mass: "Christ has died"; "Christ has risen"; "Christ will come again". We live in that hope and celebrate the feast of Easter expecting to rise from the dead and to live in eternity with our bodies, a supernatural life. This year the Catholic Church entered into the season of Lent which culminated with the Easter celebration having "Let us ensure the right to life" as the theme. The right to life Jesus ensured to every one of us dying on the Cross and through His Resurrection. Long before Jesus was put to death, He told his chosen ones that He would be put to death and the on the third day He would rise."I am the resurrection and life.he who believes in Me will live.....whoever lives and believes in Me, never dies". (John 11 :25). "This proclamation of Peace is for all those who are undergoing a calvary seemingly without end, thwarted in their aspiration for respect for their dignity and human rights, for justice, for employment, for fairer living conditions. May this proclamation be an inspiration to the leaders of the nations and to every person of good will", Pope John Paul II wrote in His Year 2000 Easter Message. We in Sri Lanka live in fear and we are a troubled nation. We look for peace. Peace within and peace among us. The message of Easter is Peace and peace comes with reconciliation. Jesus' death on the Cross-was a means of reconciliation of man with his Creator, God. Jesus Christ, the Son of God who took the form of man, through His Death won back the Love and Mercy of God for mankind. We are reminded that the British Government entered into a pact with Ireland on Good Friday in the year 2000 and Sri Lanka prayed and took the statue of Our Lady of Madhu in March last year and towards the completion of one year of tour of the statue of Our Lady of Madhu we now find that both the Sri Lanka Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam signing a Memorandum of Understanding, opening the way for permanent peace in the country. For all Catholics, Christians and other communities of different faiths this is a historical moment and we all in one voice pray that peace should dawn in the land, the dammadweepaya. The Resurrection of Christ is the basis of Christian faith. St. Paul who campaigned the cause of Christ says that " our faith is useless if Christ has not risen from the dead". But centuries after the glorified event the world still questions whether one can accept the teaching of life after death. Sacred Scripture speaks about the life after death. The people of the Old Testament had believed that there is life after death. But this was different from the New Testament teaching. This life after death is a teaching which points to the justice of God. God is just. He will do justice to everyone. Man does not like to look at death as an end of human life.A philosophical answer is given to his quest and that is the continuation of life in several births - Cycle of birth. The Christian answer is resurrection. This resurrection is not a rebirth, a cycle of birth or re-incarnation. But it is continuation of life in a very much higher plane. Man, the culminating point of creation is not to be annihilated at the end of the cycle of birth or he is not to be absorbed into Maha-Aathma; "Athman to Brahman". But he is invited to eternity to a blissful life sharing the glory of God, his Creator. The Resurrection of Christ re-assures that everyone will be rewarded after this life, according to each ones merits. This teaching is an answer for people looking for justice. Glancing through the Book of Job Chapter 19, you will find that there was the belief in after life. The verses give no direct reference to the teaching of Resurrection as we understand it today through the New Testament. But his reference to 'seeing God in the flesh after his death' leads one to draw the conclusion that this was nothing but reference to the teaching on life after death. The Council of Nicaea in 325 AD decided that the Church should celebrate Easter on the First Sunday following the full moon after spring solastice (March 21). The observance of Resurrection continues for a period of 50 days, until the feast of Pentecost. |
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