“For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” Mark 10:45

In the resurrection, God vindicated Jesus, his life, his message, and his fidelity. Jesus entered our world preaching faith, love, and forgiveness, but the world didn’t accept that. Instead, it crucified him and, by that, seemingly shamed his message. The Resurrection asks us to believe what Gandhi affirmed, despite every appearance to the contrary at times, in the end, love does triumph over hatred. Peace does triumph over chaos. Forgiveness does triumph over bitterness. Hope does triumph over cynicism. Fidelity does triumph over despair. Virtue does triumph over sin. Conscience does triumph over callousness. Life does triumph over death, and good does triumph over evil, always. More concretely, it asks us to roll the dice on trust and truth, namely, trusting that what Jesus taught is true. Virtue is not naive, even when it is shamed. Sin and cynicism are naive, even when they appear to triumph. Those who genuflect before God and others in conscience will find meaning and joy, even when they are deprived of some of the world’s pleasures. Those who drink in and manipulate sacred energy without conscience will not find meaning in life, even when they taste pleasure. Those who live in honesty, no matter the cost, will find freedom. Those who lie and rationalize will find themselves imprisoned in self-hate. Those who live in trust will find love. The Resurrection, most forcibly, makes that point. In the end, God has the last word. The resurrection of Jesus is that last word. From the ashes of shame, of seeming defeat, failure, and death, a new, deeper, and eternal life perennially bursts forth. Our faith begins at the very point where it seems it should end, in God’s seeming silence in the face of evil. God’s silence can be trusted, even when we die inside of it. We need to remain faithful in love, forgiveness, and conscience despite everything that suggests they are naive. They will bring us to what is deepest inside of life. Ultimately, God vindicates virtue, love, conscience, forgiveness, and fidelity. God vindicates Jesus and will vindicate us, too, if we remain faithful.

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