Growing up, Easter was always a dramatic rememberance of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, my Saviour. It was always fascinating and interesting, especially on the last ‘stations of the cross’ at our parish on Good Friday. Perhaps as a child, I never really thought deeply about the real meaning of the entire season.
One of the first times Easter really hit and shook me was in my adult life when I saw Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion of The Christ’. I was demoralized. I haven’t been able to see it again as other people have done. It was so vivid and real and left me really pondering and realizing exactly what went down.
In addition to this experience, I began to listen to Pastor Steven Furtick a lot. Easter is his favorite Christian celebration and he tells the story well in amazing sermons. I remember listening to a Christmas morning message where he preached an Easter sermon. At the beginning I doubted it would fit, but it did. Who would have thought that?
Good Easter sermons can make you pause and think a lot. Just like today, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cathedral Makurdi, Reverend Father Abela shared a story after his Homily about a boy who decided to pick up and read the story of Jesus from His birth to His adult life. As he read and enjoyed the story, he got really interested until he got to the place where Jesus died. This little boy ran to his mother, crying, “They killed him, they killed him”. His mother consoled him, told him to stop crying and urged him; “Go back and continue reading, that is not the end”.
Just like the mother urged, Fr. Abela urged us to keep moving forward even when we hit the dark moments, it isn’t the end.
What’s the dark moment that looks like it’s the end for you today? Go back and continue…it will get better.
Amen.
Happy Easter Sunday everyone
