Easter Hope Of Glory

Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer, has written the book: “The Hope of Glory – Reflections on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross” (2020).  As noted on the book jacket: “Writing in a tone more intimate than any of his previous works, Jon Meacham returns us to the moment that transformed Jesus from a historical figure into the proclaimed Son of God, worshiped by billions.”  Meacham concluded his text with the following:

…God’s creation remains a place of perplexity.  Jesus, we are often taught, is the answer, but if you are anything like me you surely wish there weren’t so damned many questions.  What, then, do we know for certain?  That we should love one another as we would be loved, take care of the least of these, keep the feast in remembrance of Our Lord’s sacrifice, and remain open, always open, to the mysterious grace of God.  Yet how easy such things are to say, or to preach, and how hard, how very hard, they are to do.

No matter where one stands in terms of faith, Jesus (be he God or man, or both) was perhaps the most important figure who ever drew breath.  He will enthrall us to the end of time…We know this much: In the shadow of the cross, hope – not certainty, and surely not fear – is the truth that endures despite all the pain and all the heartbreak and all the tears…Jesus said, “but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Or so we pray, now and always.

This Easter we must focus on hope and not on fear.  Jesus is the truth who has overcome the world.  For those of us with pain, heartbreak, and tears, this hope enables us to endure the shadows of crosses in our lives and to be open to the mysterious grace of God.  Our Lord is risen.  We must rise as well.

Deacon David Pierce