April 11, 2020

An Easter message of hope: Despair turns to joy

REGIONAL
By Father Piotr Calik, Special to iObserve

All Saints Church, Ware (iObserve photo/Rebecca Drake)

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”(Romans 15:13).

Dear Friends,

It is a special time, a very sad time when we are not allowed to celebrate Easter the way we always did. We need to remind ourselves that nothing was promised to us except faith, love, and hope.

I truly believe that hope is one of the most emotionally packed words in any language. 

When it is spoken, the impossible suddenly becomes possible, where darkness is overtaken by light and despair turns to joy. 

And that’s exactly what happened when a group of women arrived at Jesus’ tomb early on a Sunday morning to anoint his body with spices. They went with hope.

Because of Christ’s resurrection, we have hope. That empty tomb is the reason we can rejoice.

When our flesh weakens with illness, fear, panic or other feelings, we  need to know that we will one day receive strong immortal bodies that will never become tired or sick.

It’s all well and good to rejoice in our salvation and hope for our future glorification, but what does Christ’s resurrection do for us right now? 

It is the Holy Spirit who transforms, empowers, and encourag​es​ us through life’s trials — that we can walk in newness of life because of Christ’s resurrection which is the best news we could ever hear.

Today, try to find a time to think about the hope that Christ’s resurrection brings to you personally.

Happy Easter 2020, full of hope!

Father Calik is pastor of All Saints and St. Mary’s parishes in Ware.