IN the liturgy of the Catholic Church, there is nothing that matches the Easter Vigil in solemnity, theological richness and dramaturgical elements. It is dubbed “the mother of all vigils,” but to the Christians of the early Church, it was the culmination of the vigils by which they observed the Paschal Triduum — from Holy Thursday night to the Easter Vigil. It starts with the blessing of the “new fire” within the darkened church precincts. There is so much symbolism and memory here: the light that dispels darkness, the pillar of light that led the Israelites in the night as they marched toward the Promised Land, the angel that, according to Matthew’s Gospel, descended from heaven and appeared “like lightning” — and Easter’s light, “the light of a million mornings,” the light of the morning of eternity! And as the bishop (or the presiding priest) traces the Greek letters “alpha” and “omega” and the numerals of the current year, the Messiah’s lordship over time is proclaimed, and history — the numerals of the current year — merges with eternity — the alpha and the omega.
As Trump’s war drags on, many will bury their dead, and many more will suffer. There is pain and anguish suffered by Iranians, Israelis, Lebanese, Americans, and residents of the Gulf States who, in different ways, are caught in the dragnet of this utterly destructive display of lethal power. Hans Kung, one of the century’s brilliant theologians, controversial no doubt, but incisive nonetheless, reflects on Jesus’ death in his book “On Being a Christian.” Even what appears to be a senseless death can acquire a meaning, but that will be a meaning not owed to the cleverness of human persons who are the authors of senseless slaughter and suffering, whose only justification for madness is an inordinate sense of worth claimed both for themselves and for their nations. The Resurrection of Jesus holds the offer of meaning before us. Cynicism that cannot be overcome may reject it, but the offer of meaning is real. The God who raised Jesus offers not freedom from suffering, but meaning in suffering. There is a dark mystery of human existence that inscribes suffering into it. Even love, Kung points out, is linked with suffering. It is not granted to us now to understand why we must suffer, but for those who accept the offer of meaning by looking on Him who was crucified and raised by the love of the Father, we are promised its meaning “when all will be revealed.” For some, this will be illusory, but for those who trust and keep faith, it is what will allow them to ride out the trials and tribulations of life. It is a fundamental option that all of us face. The suffering of those who must obey commands and fight in battle, the grief of parents who lose even little children to the merciless barrage of missiles and bombs, the spouses and family members who must bury their loved ones felled in battle — for them suffering is utterly senseless, but when we look at the Sufferer whom the Father glorified, we behold the offer of the presence of God. He who experienced utter abandonment on the Cross is also he through whom the Father made clear that even in the apparent senselessness of suffering, there is a way to Him.
But this is not faith that leads to comfort and passivity in the face of suffering. The believer will resist senseless suffering; he will take his place on the side of the unjustly persecuted; he will throw in his lot with the victims of a senseless war — no matter their nationality — not as an act of what existentialist philosophers called “heroic despair,” but in the faith that the Father is one who sides with the suffering, who defends the oppressed and who raises up the fallen! This will be the ultimate font of resoluteness for the believer.
rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.ph
Rannie_aquino@csu.edu.ph
