Never say never

Aman, presumably dead, was being carried to the burial grounds. Suddenly, he awoke and asked his friends: “Where are you taking me?” One replied, “To be buried,” and another explained: “since you’re dead!” “But,” protested the man, “I’m alive!” Unmoved, his friends said, “No, you’re dead! Our doctor certified you dead, our priest performed the last rites, and the undertaker made this coffin just for you!” The man sighed: “If professionals declared me dead, then I must be dead. Bury me!”

Long before we die, many people deem us dead — or partly so. “Fool!” “Don’t try that!” “You’re incapable!” “You won’t succeed!” are messages we get as infants. We begin to believe that we’re actually daft, weaklings, incapable idiots fated for failure and meaningless death. Worse, our beliefs mould our behaviour and we live half-heartedly, like robots. Rubbishing this, the Easter message is: Rejoice! Arise! Live life anew!

After the past “Holy Week” climaxing in “Resurrection Sunday”, Christians celebrate “Easter Season” for seven weeks, recalling Christ’s glorious rising from the dead. Jesus’ crucifixion was an outcome of his compassion towards the poor and powerless, and his stand against sin, evil, injustice and death. Consequently, he endured the vilest of sufferings: denial, treachery, betrayal, falsehood, torture, scourging, mocking, crowning with thorns, abandonment, stripping and crucifixion. Jesus neither believed in passivism nor defeatism.

Easter is the greatest of Christian feasts since it assures us that courage, not cowardice; love, not hatred; forgiveness, not vengeance; truth, not falsehood, will, ultimately prevail. This is emphatically enshrined in our national motto “Satyameva Jayate”, which should be engraved upon every human heart. Francis Gonsalves is a professor of theology. He

can be contacted at fragons@gmail.com