Easter is God’s Free Gift of Peace by Archbishop Peter Loy Chong

EASTER

GOD’S FREE GIFT OF PEACE

1. Holy Week and Easter Triduum, is the holiest of liturgies; the Heart of the Liturgical Year; pinnacle of the Christian life; feast of feasts, solemnities or solemnities.

2. Symbolic Structure of Faith

Faith deals with the communication of the divine, the transcendent, and the mystery of God. God is invisible – no one has seen God. So how do we communicate something we do not see.

We use analogy – analogical language, symbolic language.

God is like this or that – but more than that. Symbolic language is part of human experience. Human beings need symbols. For example, when we communicate love – we use symbols. In the Itaukei culture we use the tabua and Yaqona to communicate respect, hospitality and reconciliation.

What are symbols? Symbols have the power to communicate what they signify. Symbols are able to point beyond themselves – they communicate something beyond themselves. Symbols are therefore an important part or the medium – the conduit for communicating God.

3. The Holy Week Symbols

The Catholic Holy Week and Easter Triduum remembers and makes present to saving works of God through Jesus Christ through symbols:

• Jesus’ Triumphant entry to Jerusalem
• The Last Supper
• Jesus’ trial
• Crucifixion
• Death
• Resurrection

Holy Week is remembering; but a special kind of remembering;

We do not merely dramatize of the historical events of Jesus life. We do not simply remember the past. Rather it is about remembering the past, to make it present for today. We bring the salvific events of Jesus’ life and make it present for people today.

We re-interpret the salvific events of Jesus’ life so that it mediates salvation, freedom, for people today. Holy Week rituals make present the saving acts of Jesus in people’s experience today.

So, we come to the Holy Week rituals with our experiences, our questions, our problems, and our need for salvation and freedom. We open ourselves to grace of God mediated through the Holy Week symbols. Grace and salvation is God’s free gift to humanity.

In his Easter Vigil 2006 homily, Pope Benedict highlights the point – to remember and make present:

‘The resurrection has reached and seized us. We grasp hold of it, we grasp hold of the risen Lord, and we know that he holds us firmly even when our hands grow weak.” The resurrection does not recede into the past, but remains vividly present, Christ’s resurrection is NOW!

As we prepare and celebrate Holy Week we are not simply attending three separate liturgies – Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday, rather we celebrate and make present one great liturgy or one great ritual of God’s saving love.

If God saves us; why is there suffering in the world? Why does COVID-19 threaten the world? Why do Pacific Islanders face the danger of sea level rising?

God has given us the gift of freedom. God is love and all he does is love. Human beings can accept the fullness of God’s love and experience fullness of life or we can choose to remain in the dark.

The Holy Week rituals invites us to reflect on the God who loves and offers us peace or the fullness of life. We are called to cooperate with Gods saving plan for human beings and creation.

May God’s grace and peace be with you all during this Holy Week and Easter Triduum. Alleluia!