Happy Easter! It is so appropriate that we take 50 days to celebrate this glorious feast, since it is the culmination of our narrative—the story that guides and gives form, shape, and direction to our lives. Easter is an “alternative ending” to a story that appears to be hopelessly and wildly progressing toward a tragic ending. The Christian narrative is the ultimate “director’s cut,” since it represents how God intends the story to “end.” In very simple terms, the Christian narrative can be summed up with three R’s:
- Rescue—The story of Salvation history is the story of God rescuing his people from bondage, first from the bondage of slavery in Egypt and eventually from the bondage of sin through the life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
- Restoration—God continually restores us to right relationship with him and with one another.
- Reassurance—God’s saving grace continues to be present to us through the presence of the Holy Spirit and the Church, in particular, the sacraments.
Easter is a time to recall, renew, and celebrate our Baptism. Through Baptism, we embrace the Christian narrative as our own, replacing the unhealthy narratives that too often guide our lives into disarray, unhappiness, and, in too many cases, ruin. As a result of Baptism, we have joined a people in recovery. Recovery from any form of addiction requires a healthy self-narrative, lest the “stinking thinking” that caused the addiction in the first place re-asserts itself. The Christian narrative tells us that we are born and live addicted to sin but that, through the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, we find a path to recovery and sobriety: new life, which is also known as Salvation. At Easter, we celebrate our Baptism by which we are called back to this life-giving narrative that reminds us of God’s ongoing rescue, restoration, and reassurance.
Enjoy these glorious 50 days of Easter!
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