Jesus taught us to serve: allow ourselves to be interrupted and serve others, brings healing and new life
Easter Sunday – April 20, 2025
Happy Easter! For many of us, Easter is a joyful remembrance that Christ is risen from the dead and is the hope of eternal life for each of us, even after our earthly death.
However, many people are still in pain upon the cross: yes, most people in Kenya are struggling through this long period of economic downturn, amidst widespread corruption, where it is difficult even to get a meal every day.
There are others around the world who live in abusive situations: child abuse, domestic abuse, or surrounded by violence. Then, there are those in the midst of war: D R Congo, Sudan, Ukraine and Myanmar. Some of us even live in silent ‘wars’ at home.
How can Easter be good news for them and us? How can we all be raised into Heaven on earth? From Acts we are told: “It is to him that all the prophets bear this witness: that all who believe in Jesus will have their sins forgiven through his name.” Note: believing in Jesus is more than accepting that Jesus is the Son of God: it means I will imitate Jesus.
To understand it more deeply, we need a more practical understanding of sin. Don’t think of sin as simply my personal mistakes against God, others and myself and that, now, God will wipe them away. Instead, think of sin as the breaking of relationships, the opening of ‘gaps’ between ‘myself’ and others; or those feelings of shame within ‘myself’ as I sin against my body and against God.
Then, we see that Easter is not magic, but a pathway for us to follow with great hope: that through the path of non-violence, peaceful dialogue, and service to others, we are able to forgive, or ask humbly for forgiveness, after acknowledging my ‘sin’ against others.
In other words, Easter is not a bit of magic, but a constant reminder of the example Jesus Christ has given to us, a pathway to follow.
The Easter events are even more extraordinary when you consider the powerful options available to God, who chose to come not as a human warrior, but as a servant.
Here lies the key to the Easter message: service to others is a key way of breaking the cycle of sin and violence. Service communicates love, and opens up the doorway to dialogue and healing. Sin is always ‘negative’ while service is ‘positive’ and partly cancels the negative.
- wives continue to prepare meals for the husband and children even when they have been offended. Through those meals and faithful service, healing words will eventually come.
Easter is not magic, but a sure pathway we must choose to walk, through concrete actions, if we want to enter into Heaven here on earth. This means we can all celebrate Easter even if we are in the midst of conflict or financial difficulties by simply doing acts of service for others.
In this Jubilee year of Hope, let us remember that Hope will not disappoint if we take up more service to others: at home, in the workplace, in our community as volunteers, etc. As we love others, much love will come back to us.
Happy Easter!
By Gerard Conlan, OMI
