Easter is the day Christians celebrate the salvation of the world through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a day of great celebration. On that Sunday, it is traditional for pastors and priests to greet the congregation by proclaiming “Christ is risen!” To which the congregation responds, “He is risen indeed!” Some years ago, someone told me the following story. I do not know if it is true. I hope it is.
Back during the dark days of the Soviet Union, a small rural village far from Moscow committed a cardinal sin, at least a cardinal sin the eyes of the Communist state. They refused to give up their Russian Orthodox faith. They refused to stop attending worship on Sunday. Their “crime” called for re-education in order to wean the village off the “opiate of the people.” Therefore, the whole village — every man, woman and child — was ordered by the authorities to the village’s central square. In a chilling cold, they were forced to stand for hours and listen to speaker after speaker, denounce religion, Russian Orthodoxy, their priests and their faith. Finally, in order to be “fair,” the re-educators asked the village priest to come to the podium. He was very old and nearly bent double with age. He did not appear to be any threat to the people’s re-education.
The KGB agent in charge said to him, “You have exactly 10 minutes to challenge our arguments.”The old priest looked up and said, “I will not need that much time.”He moved slowly, almost painfully, to the microphone and then something remarkable, miraculous, occurred. He stood up straight. The years of age melted away; his eyes became clear and bright. He looked out over the crowd and in a strong, loud voice proclaimed the traditional Easter greeting: “Christ is risen!”
And the crowd roared back, “He is risen indeed!”
Then the crowd went nuts, cheering, hugging and crying, as the old priest, smiled kindly at the KGB agent, slowly bent back to nearly double, and shuffled off the podium.
There can be little doubt that over the centuries the arguments between different “brands” of Christianity have made a real mess of things: Catholic versus Protestant, conservative Christian versus liberal Christian, evangelicals versus mainline denominations. Tragically, people, such as during the Reformation or more recently in Northern Ireland, have even died over these arguments and disagreements. (Add to this, the wars that have raged over conflicts between religions and one has to wonder how anyone in their right mind can keep faith!) Nevertheless, despite all of these tragic disagreements, Christians all over the world for centuries have joined together on Easter Sunday, just as they will tomorrow, to confess in unity and unison, “Christ is risen!” This confession is the glue that holds Christian people together!
I cannot help but ask, in the light of the rancorous and sometimes violent debates that have raged recently in our nation’s Capitol: “What is the glue that holds us, the American people, together?” Have we become so fragmented, angry, arrogant or disillusioned that we can no longer debate the great issues of our time with civility? Have we lost the understanding that not only are we all unique creations of God, but also that our “uniqueness” means we may not always see the world in the same way; that what seems obvious to one is obscure to another, that what seems right to one is not so right to another? Like the “brands” of Christianity, can we not find a confession around which we can unify; a song we can sing in unison? I hope and pray we can. For without a glue to hold us together, we will become tattered and frayed. Our life as a nation will slowly, but surely, ebb away.
Easter, for those of us who are Christian, is not only a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection, but an acknowledgement that there is always the possibility of new life. No matter how dark and dreary the days may be, spring is always just around the corner. It is in this hope, an Easter hope, that perhaps all of us, regardless of our creed or religion, can agree to put aside our rancor and anger, strive for civility, and work and pray together for new life for our nation and our world. Perhaps we might join hands and sing together in hope and unison the prayer written by Irving Berlin in the dark days prior to World War II:
God Bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, my home sweet home.
Santosamaru 