CHRIST DEFEATED THE ENEMY

Reflections for Easter Sunday on the The Resurrection of the Lord: Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Colossians 3:1-4; 20:1-9

18th June 1815 was a significant day for England. The Duke of Wellington, led the British, Dutch, and German forces, in the Battle of Waterloo against the French army under Napoleon. At a time when there was no radio or internet, the whole of England held its breath waiting to hear the result of the war, on which its future depended. Finally, a ship carrying the news appeared on the horizon of the English Channel. Unable to dock on the foggy day, the message was conveyed through semaphores (a light relay system) with flashing lights spelling out the message word by word. A soldier standing on the top of the Winchester Cathedral picked up the message, which spelt WELLINGTON DEFEATED. As an instant denser fog descended, the ship vanished out of sight and so did its signal tower. The entire country sunk into depression as the news of the defeat spread like wildfire across the nation. As the fog cleared with time, the soldier looked again and realised the message was incomplete. The full message read: WELLINGTON DEFEATED THE ENEMY. Instantly, disappointment turned into celebration. The English had won over their nemesis bringing to an end the twelve-year-old Napoleonic Wars.

            The Easter story is similar. On the foggy evening of Good Friday, as a gloomy “darkness came over the whole land while the sun's light failed” (Luke 23:44-45), the writing on the Tomb’s wall tomb seemed evident: JESUS DEFEATED. The Prince of Peace had met his murderous fate. The Son of God now lay buried in a rented tomb. The messiah’s war on sin seemed to have met its tragic end. Dejected and disillusioned, the disciples of the defeated master returned home and locked themselves up in despair. On Easter morning, however, as the fog of Good Friday lifted, the complete message of Easter became legible to Peter, John, and Mary of Magdala: JESUS DEFEATED THE ENEMY. What was thought to be the DEFEAT of God’s salvation plan, turned out to be the DEFEAT OF THE ENEMY. As Peter declares in the first reading, “They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible”. What does this message mean to us? How does Jesus’ defeat of the enemy bring to our lives?

1. LIFE DEFEATS DEATH:

In Christ’s passion, death, burial, and resurrection, death, which is humanity’s common enemy (Romans 6:23) is defeated. Easter liturgy’s sequence (Victimae paschali laudes) sings, “Death and life have contended in that combat stupendous: The Prince of life, who died, reigns immortal”. The defeat of death becomes for all creation, the guarantee of life beyond the grave. Death is not the final word. Life resits the oppressive power of death. Life perseveres despite all odds. This realisation is evident in Paul’s victorious tone, “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55, Hosea 13:14). When the darkness of death seems to overpower us, the good news of Easter opens our eyes to life’s ability to resist and defeat the culture of death.

2. JOY DEFEATS DESPAIR:

Resurrection guarantees joy beyond our imagination. Before his passion, Jesus had promised his disciples, “Your pain will turn into joy… So you have pain now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (John 16:20,22). The reality of war and violence, structural injustice, ecological crisis, poverty and corruption, divisions and discrimination, might tempt us to retire into a pessimistic outlook about the future of our society. Easter’s victory challenges us to hope-filled joy. The call of Pope Francis’ Urbi et Orbi Easter message of 2023 echoes, “May we allow ourselves to experience amazement at the joyful proclamation of Easter, at the light that illumines the darkness and the gloom in which, all too often, our world finds itself enveloped”.

3. MISSION DEFEATS FRONTIERS: 

The news of the defeat of the enemy shall become the crux of the Church’s faith and proclamation. The Easter Kerygma is the permanent good news that the Church witnesses in its identity and mission (being and becoming). Christ’s Easter offer of salvation is accompanied by a clarion call to the mission. His redemptive work for us leads to His work through us. Easter does not allow us to sit back and wait passively for the afterlife but commit ourselves to reflecting the values of the Kingdom here and now. The Holy Spirit empowers us in our mission that transcends the frontiers of region, language, culture, religion, or title. The Risen Lord commands, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation”.

May the Risen Lord defeat death, despair, and divisions to ‘resurrect’ in us life, joy, and missionary zeal.