There’s so much darkness in the world – the darkness of sorrow, of broken hearts, of failed dreams, of illness, of loss of loved ones. The darkness is real, but so is the Light. In the midst of the worst of darkness, the light of Christ shines forth.
This is the message and the lesson of Easter. At the crucifixion it looked like death would have the final victory. The Lord’s followers were distraught. They had believed in Jesus. They had followed Him. But on Good Friday all seemed loss. They had seen Jesus arrested, horribly tortured, crucified, and buried. He was dead. It was over. Their hopes were dashed. The darkness had won.
On the first Easter, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus told the stranger walking with them (who was the Risen Lord they did not recognize), “we had hoped” that He was the Messiah.
The words “We had hoped” sums up the despair they must have felt. Everything had come to an end. There was obviously no way out of this darkness.
But that is never true. God always has the final victory. He rose from the grave having triumphed over death. His passion, His Cross, won for us the forgiveness of sins. His Resurrection proved that we are called to eternal life. Darkness, no matter how things may seem at the moment, never has the final word.
This is the hope we are called to embrace. This is the trust in God we are called to hold on to. There are times in our lives when the darkness seems to have triumphed. There are times when, regardless of how hard we try to believe, we doubt that Light can overcome the darkness we are enduring. The loneliness we experience is real, the death of our loved one breaks our heart, the illness is incurable. We ask how light can shine in this moment?
We are tempted to forget that God is all-powerful. In the midst of real endings, He brings new beginnings; in the midst of real sorrow, He brings consolation; in the midst of exhaustion, He brings strength; in the midst of confusion, He brings guidance; in the midst of sin, He brings forgiveness. In the midst of darkness, He brings light.
So let us live confident in the light of Christ. God is with us in all things. In the midst of all the darkness of the world, let us remain faithful to Him because the final victory is always with Christ.
May our lives give God honor and glory. May we accept God’s gift of eternal life to live in the light for all eternity.