Easter: signs of death and John Paul II’s call
More and more, signs that the world is dying are visible in the Far East. The “Jasmine Revolution”, born from the desire of young Tunisians and Egyptians for dignity and justice, is taking on neo-colonial connotations in Libya, where European powers are going beyond the UN mandate, concealing their aim of economic domination, which has nothing to do with a desire to protect the Libyan people and the immigrants cramming the shores of the Mediterranean.
Likewise, the dictator of Tripoli, rather than seek reconciliation with a people he has forgotten for 40 years, has called on Muslim fundamentalists to punish the ‘Crusader’ West. Instead of being a factor of reconciliation, he is using religion as a weapon to consolidate his power.
In Egypt too, where the almost entirely non-violent youth uprising succeeded in removing President Mubarak, the military and the Muslim Brotherhood are trying to curb popular demands for democracy. Even the explicit call for complete equality among all Egyptian citizens, giving Christians the same rights and duties as all other Egyptians, was ignored. Even the rare (but enduring) Christian-Muslim confrontation is being used to break the unity created in Tahrir Square, when demonstrators brandished Bibles and Qur‘ans as well as icons and Muslim prayer beads.
In the Far East, the shocking pictures of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, an event never visually documented so well as before, show the extent of the destruction inflicted upon human lives, families, houses and cities. The danger of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant has further undermined the sense of security of a country that is rich and technologically very advanced. The images of mountains of debris, the broken shells of cars and boats, as well the anxiety caused by the radiation highlight the vulnerability of an elusive nature and the fragility of the scientific and technological progress of the world.
When the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, spoke about the dangers of radioactive contamination coming from Fukushima, he urged the Japanese and the world to stop “the use of energy production that is so dangerous to the integrity of the human race”.
More importantly, the signs and mountains of death remind us of man’s fragility as well as the importance of facing life with realism and humility so that it may grow. This lack of humility leads to dictatorships, creates a hunger for power, and underpins the delusion of scientific mastery, threatening the existence of entire peoples.
On Easter night, the Church will celebrate a man who is God, who humiliated himself until he died for love. His love was stronger than evil and death. Against the backdrop of war’s horizons and mountains of debris stands a force almost indelible that defeated death, and is capable of breathing new life out of death, like water gushing out of barren ground. The small signs of dialogue, charity, martyrdom, and solidarity offered by the small Churches of Asia show that Life is stronger than death.
When the world opens up to Christ, it will be able to experience the victory that we sing at Easter. As a reminder, let us not forget John Paul II’s pressing call on the day of his inauguration, “Open wide the doors for Christ. To his saving power, open the boundaries of States, economic and political systems, the vast fields of culture, civilization and development. Do not be afraid. Christ knows ‘what is in man’. He alone knows it.”
The beatification of the Polish Pope is scheduled for 1 May, Octave of Easter, and will provide an opportunity to answer the call.
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