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April 11, 2020The passage from the letter of St. Paul to the Romans read at the Easter Vigil begins with a question: “Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?”
The life of Christ was full of hardships as well as triumphs. What we celebrate at Easter is the greatest triumph in the history of the world.
The situation where we find ourselves and our world at the moment is not the end. Before Christ could be raised from the dead, before Easter Sunday, came Good Friday. The sufferings, the sacrifices, the hardships that we are going through now are not in vain. They are for the good of others as well as our own good. What Christ suffered — what came before the resurrection — was for the good of others.
We are baptized into Christ Jesus — into his life and into his death. Months ago we were not organizing around the COVID-19 Pandemic. At any point in history, whatever challenges we face, the truth, that we are baptized in Christ, remains the same. We are baptized in his death, and at the same time, we are baptized into his life. Just as Christ was raised from the dead, we too will have newness of life!
