Opus 2020-093: The Assurance of Hope

As the non-Orthodox Christian community looks at Easter we find that the message is more important than ever.  What is being celebrated is the physical resurrection of Jesus after He was crucified and buried.  He had been dead for three days and now was alive again.  The promise of the cross is that sin has been paid for and we can have eternal life.  The hope presented by the empty tomb is that death has no terror for those who are trusting in the power of Jesus as a substitute for our death penalty.

That is double true for Christians as we are being bombarded by panic over a virus that might kill us and a government that might enslave us.  Both might happen.  The good news is that neither will negate the promise of the cross and the hope of the resurrection.

I am currently reading through the Old Testament book of Jeremiah.  I just finished Isaiah and next in order is Lamentations.  There is a lot of doom and gloom.  There is a lot of pestilence and death by the sword.  That is all some people take out of the prophets.  That is because they are not paying attention.  There is also the constant message of hope.  I noticed that when the southern kingdom was carried off into captivity the poor people were left behind.  I keep reading about the promise of restoration of the faithful remnant from the captivity.  There is no promise that everything will always be angel food cake and chocolate chip cookies.  There is a promise of hope.

For Israel it was and is a promise to a group of people.  For Christians it is a promise to individuals.  If you are a believer, cheer up.  Read the book.  Find out who wins.  Take a deep breath.  Relax.  Keep in mind that on what we call Good Friday, Satan was celebrating and the disciples were hiding in fear.  Both were mistaken. 

If you don’t celebrate Easter because you doubt the date then celebrate the resurrection like you should be doing on a daily basis anyway.

homo unius libri