{"id":14805,"date":"2014-04-17T10:22:30","date_gmt":"2014-04-16T23:22:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/?p=14805"},"modified":"2014-04-17T14:57:30","modified_gmt":"2014-04-17T03:57:30","slug":"easter-the-victory-of-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/2014\/04\/17\/easter-the-victory-of-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"Easter: The victory of hope"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI feel weak and angry.\u00a0 It seems hopeless\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n

A young woman speaking during the candle-light vigil held after the tragic death of Reza Barati on Manus Island.\u00a0 She said what so many of us feel when faced with an injustice.\u00a0 We ask, \u201cCan anything be done?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

We can channel our outrage, for sure.\u00a0 We can muster our strength as best we can.\u00a0 But I want to express more than that.\u00a0 I cannot be content with simply \u201cI hope it will get better.\u00a0 I hope justice will come.\u201d\u00a0 But hope demands more, much more. Hope demands a\u00a0solid basis.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Jesus Christ, in his death and resurrection, we have so much more: we have the victory of hope.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus faced the depths of human cruelty and injustice.\u00a0 He plunged those depths for love, losing his life.\u00a0 But it was not in vain.\u00a0 On the third day he was raised to life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Easter celebrates and refreshes my faith in Christ’s victory over death and evil.\u00a0 His victory is not just a victory for which I hope – it is a victory which gives<\/span> me hope: a personal hope.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

It is a great comfort to know that there is victory over death. Therefore we can live with the complexities and cruelties of life in the sure hope of eternal life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Christ\u2019s resurrection gives me a motivating hope in the present.\u00a0 It stimulates generosity and compassion and forgiveness.\u00a0 How can it not do so when it sheds an eternal perspective on the petty winds and waves of our society?<\/span><\/p>\n

Christ\u2019s resurrection gives me a hope for the future.\u00a0 Ultimately I look towards the return of the risen Jesus who will bring justice and restore life in its fullness.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because of Jesus, I can do more than just say, \u201cI hope our work will bear fruit\u201d. Rather, I say, \u201cI have hope; therefore I work for life in its fullness.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I exclaim with the Apostle Peter, \u201cPraise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead\u201d.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI feel weak and angry.\u00a0 It seems hopeless\u201d. A young woman speaking during the candle-light vigil held after the tragic death of Reza Barati on Manus Island.\u00a0 She said what so many of us feel when faced with an injustice.\u00a0 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14805"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14805"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14805\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14843,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14805\/revisions\/14843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/imaginarydiocese.org\/bishopjohn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}