I was deeply inspired by this Easter message written by one of my closest friends, Donald Bolen, who is now Bishop of Saskatoon. May his words inspire us to appreciate more deeply the new life offered to us in our celebration of Christ’s Resurrection. Happy Easter!

In the Liturgy of the Hours for Holy Saturday, an ancient and evocative homily asks: "What is happening? Today there is a great silence over the earth, and stillness, because the King sleeps.” But while on earth he sleeps, to the underworld Jesus descends triumphant, and it trembles. He goes to seek out our first parent, Adam; he visits all those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, who had died before him, bringing his cross, by which he conquers death. He says to all who had died, "Awake, sleeper, and rise from the dead, for I have not made you to be held prisoners in the underworld. Arise, O work of my hands, let us leave this place!"

Here, in the year of our Lord 2016, we too have waited, as those Christ freed from death had waited. We have walked with the Lord through his passion and death, through violence and deceit, and now we stand waiting for the first trace of resurrection light. The image of Holy Saturday is a suggestive one for us, because our world is still, in many ways, broken, wounded, struggling, in need of redemption. And we do well to ask? What is it that we wait for? In the ministry of his Son Jesus, God undoes the power of death, enters into our human struggles, comes in compassion to bandage our wounds, heals our infirmities, sets us free from all that binds us. When Jesus’ acts of mercy become threatening to others, when he is opposed, he teaches his disciples the way of self-giving, suffering love. He gives himself completely, showing us in word and deed the power of unconditional love. And he is put to death on a cross.

But death is not the end of the story. In Jesus’ resurrection, God takes upon himself all the darkness we can muster, and transforms that darkness to light. We are redeemed by a boundless love. God’s mercy does not end there. In the Spirit, God equips us too to be agents of transformation in our world. Entering into places of darkness, we bring light; to situations of despair, we bring hope; to places of conflict and violence, we bring dialogue and peace: bearing one another’s burdens, giving of ourselves generously, and trusting always in God’s love. Even now, we hear God say to us: “This is the way, walk in it!”

Years ago, I met a South African Anglican priest who came from a township outside of Durban. Apartheid had ended, but the community had been devastated by the HIV-AIDS pandemic, and half of the population was HIV-+. There were many different churches in Umlazi, but only one hospital, and one cemetery. To that cemetery, all Christians came together on the night of Holy Saturday, before processing to their respective churches, to light their Easter candles together, and proclaim, from the heart of human suffering, Christ risen from the dead.

Whenever we see hope rise from despair, death transformed to life, and hate to love, we hear anew the strains of resurrection joy. Christ is Risen, Alleluia! Truly, he is Risen, Alleluia!