For some who practice the Christian faith, Easter holds greater meaning than Christmas, as Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
Given what our country and world have gone through in recent times and what we are now facing, the Holy Week that began with Palm Sunday may be best used for quiet reflection.
The long road to the cross is one that the Bible says Jesus took alone. Even with the many soldiers surrounding him, the supporters or detractors on his right and left side, he took that dreadful walk alone.
Sometimes in life, we are required to walk alone. It is in walking alone that we test our inner strength, our ability to handle life’s pressures, and our independence. In walking alone, we come to terms with many of life’s realities and find our own way of overcoming. In walking alone, we listen more. We listen to that voice in our head, our conscience, or as Christians say, the voice of God.
Alone time is essential for all human beings. We all need that period to stop, reflect and recharge. Often, the circumstance that brings us to this place is not ideal or pretty. In many ways, the circumstance feels like a modern-day “crucifixion”.
But, like Christ, we too rise above the circumstance.
According to the Bible, Christ believed in a better outcome even as everything around him was caving in. He was persecuted by the mob which shouted: “Give us Barabbas!” He was found guilty by a reluctant Pontius Pilate. He was betrayed and denied by two of his disciples. Yet through it all, he held on to the faith he had in the unseen Father.
Even in the midst of it all, he was not consumed by hatred. He was kind to the soldier whose ears one of his disciples had severed. He pardoned the two men beside him on the Cross at Calvary. And, ultimately, when he was deemed down and out, he defied the odds and rose on the third day.
While it is true that none of us human beings possesses what Jesus did, the Bible says he was in human form at the time of the crucifixion. And if we are indeed made in the likeness and image of God himself, there has to be something in us that allows us to endure, that allows us to rise again after we fall. We possess the innate ability to overcome and rise against all odds.
The Easter weekend shows how one can move from despair to hope, from hopelessness to possibilities, and from sorrow to joy. These are the things that allow us a second chance to make things right.
Good Friday and Easter also bring redemption. These are the lessons that will get us through all of life’s uncertainties.
Let us all take some time over the four-day weekend to reflect and to also engage in some retrospect and soul-searching. We are always so quick to point out what is wrong with someone else, but are seemingly reluctant to have a frank and honest conversation with the “man in the mirror”.
Let us do that this Easter season.
The chairman, management and staff of Barbados TODAY take this opportunity to wish you a Happy Easter!
