STORY - "Easter Thoughts."
By Beth Doherty
Beth Doherty is a freelance journalist who has spent the last year working for Jesuit Publications in Melbourne.

As I grow older, and at 22 I'm not all that old, I have watched how Easter has taken on a new significance for me, the more I've grown in my Catholic faith. This sense of understanding and gratitude has come about through a greater interest in theology, but most importantly, through an understanding of grace and forgiveness.

Images and songs always spring to my mind when I'm reflecting on the person of Jesus. These cultural images are scattered throughout my experience of primary school plays, the bible, books, music, art, other people and my own testimony. Their connection is that they form part of the puzzle which, with its colourful pieces, makes up who I am and my understanding of the Easter message.

As I unravel these memories, I am touched by the strength and wonder of words like ‘I saw him living again, I saw the marks in his hands, I saw him look into my eyes, surely Jesus is risen'; ‘ For God so loved the world, He gave His only son', and ‘Is there any way you can say no to this man?'

Last Easter, I arrived home for the weekend, after my first experience of living away from home. I found myself in the centre of a youth group Easter retreat, for kids aged 12–16. On Good Friday, the kids performed the most moving ‘stations of the cross' I'd ever seen. This portrayal really meant something to people, and there were even a few tears among the congregation of families. For the first time, many of these kids had a sense of just how much Jesus carried on his shoulders for them. I think on that day, many of them were invited into a relationship they never knew existed.

Lent 2004 started with a showing of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ , and set the tone for this Passion play. However one distinction was the celebratory atmosphere of the retreat, which meant the resurrection became more significant for these kids, and more important than the violence depicted in the film.

On reflection, I realise the Easter message is more about the why, not the how. It's not how Jesus was beaten and scourged, although these are essential to any truthful account of the Passion, but it is about why he underwent this experience.

The temptation in movies and accounts of the passion can be to focus on the violence, negativity, and sinfulness that led to the crucifixion - and indeed that still take place today. These important depictions should, however, end in the overwhelming message that God's love is more powerful than any sin, and despite the bloodshed, ultimately love and peace conquered the greatest evil. There is also the message that we are being called to conversion each day of our lives, and to open our hearts to a message of hope, love, justice and peace.

Back to Aurora Homepage