Ave Maria Meditations
What would it mean if Easter, the Resurrection of Jesus, had not taken place? Well, if there were no resurrection, the story of Jesus would have ended with Good Friday. His Body would have decayed, and He would have become a has-been. But that would mean that God does not take initiatives in history, that He is either unwilling or unable to touch this world of ours, our human living and dying. And that in turn would mean that love is futile, and empty in vain promise. It would mean that there is no judgment and no justice. It would mean that the moment is all that counts and that right belongs to the cunning, the crafty and those without consciences there would be no judgment.
Many people, and by no means only wicked people, would welcome that because they confuse judgment with petty calculation and give more room to fear than to a trust and love. All this makes clear what Easter does mean: God has acted! History does not go on aimlessly. Justice, love, truth, these are realities, genuine reality.
God loves us; He comes to meet us. The more we go along His path and live in His way, the less we need to fear justice and truth, the more our hearts will be full of Easter joy. Easter is not only a story to be told: it is a signpost on life’s way. It is not an account of a miracle that happened a very long time ago: it is the breakthrough which has determined the meaning of all history. If we grasp this, we too, today, can utter the Easter greeting with undiminished joy: Christ is risen; yes, He is risen indeed!
+Pope Benedict XVI
