During the Easter season, we joyfully celebrate Jesus’ triumph over sin and death.  Some people mistakenly believe Jesus was sent by his Father to suffer and die.  In fact, his mission was to proclaim God’s love and mercy and to call people to abandon sin and live according to God’s law of compassion.  His preaching threatened Jewish leaders who were more concerned with fulfilling religious laws than practicing charity and mercy. They believed Jesus was undermining their authority and so they planned to kill him.

Jesus’ triumph was that he was faithful to his mission to preach the truth even though it cost him his life.  By rising from the dead, he demonstrated his power over sin and death.  What appeared to be a colossal failure ended up being an enormous victory.  His triumph released a new power, a grace, that swept first through his disciples and then engulfed the entire world.  It is this grace we see working in so many people in our community, enabling them to overcome sin and death and live a new life.

At our Good Friday service, seven women shared testimonies about their struggle to overcome death in their lives.  Each had faced and overcome a crisis in her life, thanks to the saving power of Jesus.  Rosa spoke about how her husband had been arrested and deported, leaving her to raise their six children.  She was despondent until other families, who work with her on the Parents’ Council at our youth center, Casa Juan Diego, joined forces to support her.  She proclaimed that she had found a new, extended family. She found new energy and strength to carry on because of the love she found in the community.

Two teenage girls gave their testimonies of years of conflict with their parents.  Each had responded to a specific crisis.  One ran away from home and the other attempted suicide.  After these efforts failed to solve their problems, by the power of Jesus they looked for reconciliation with their parents and their parents sought their forgiveness. Both families were lifted from violence and death to a new life in the Lord, a life of love and compassion.

We all can avail ourselves of this power of Jesus.  His strength helps us overcome sin and death in our own lives.  Let us live the resurrection in our daily lives.