An Easter Reflection from Bishop Mark
As the stockmarket swings from day to day it is clear that we are living in uncertain times.
Beginning this Easter Anglican Churches across Australia will be joining in a season of outreach called Hope25, during which we will be sharing with our communities the hope that Jesus offers to an uncertain world (see www.hope25.com.au for further details).
In The Spirit of Hope, South Korean Roman Catholic Philosopher Byung-Chul Han notes three essential features of hope:
* hope is passionate. “Hope also has intensity. It represents a deep prayer of the soul, a passion that awakens in the face of despair’s negativity.”
* hope is communal and relational. “Anxiety radically narrows the field of possibilities and this makes it harder to gain access to the new, to the not-yet-existing. For this reason, it is opposed to hope, which sharpens the sense of possibility and kindles the passion for the new, for the wholly other.”
* hope is active. “The conventional criticism of hope ignores its complexity and inner tensions. Hope goes far beyond passive expectations and wishes … Inherent in it is a determination to act.”
The longing and need for hope is a universal human experience. It is at least one of the reasons why we expect our political leaders to be agents of hope and not mere preservers of the status quo.
But there is a particular Christian understanding of hope, which is grounded in the transformational events of the first Easter. On Good Friday this world’s true King gives His life in sacrifice for a world gone astray. On Sunday Jesus’ sacrifice is vindicated by God as He is raised to new life, never to die again. From the darkness of death comes a living and lasting hope for all who believe.
It’s this disruptive hope, sometimes unrecognised and unacknowledged, which has inspired many movements for justice, from the US civil rights movement, the struggle for post-colonial independence and the campaign for First Nations recognition and justice in Australia. It is this powerful hope which frees women and men to serve their neighbours and face their own death with confidence.
Of course hope can be disappointed. It is tragic when this occurs, especially when the reason for this lies with the failure of Christians and churches to express and embody this virtue. But when the hope of Jesus captures a life it will never be the same.
God bless you and those close to you, with faith, love and especially with hope in this special season.