Easter Reflection: Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me

Happy Easter everyone! I love this time of year, not just because there's lots of chocolate (those who know me know what that's all about), but also because of what this time of year signifies.

The resurrection of Jesus is an incredible sign of hope for us all. That God loves us so much that he was willing to let his son die and then raise him again from the dead so that we could be saved is truly amazing and something that shows us no matter what, he is with us always. It is a sign for all people, especially Christians, of why we should always trust God, as he will never let us down.

The other day however, I heard something from a Priest in the United States which really struck a chord with me. It was something I'd never thought about, but now that I do, makes me value Easter even more.

Fr Robert Barron in one of his Youtube videos was discussing the idea that one of the great values of Easter is that not only does it show us what true hope is, but also, what it means to be truly great in the world today.

He talks about the fact that our views of greatness and power are based around the idea of violence and a win at all costs attitude. We fight wars for domination over countries and for many, the greatest people in the world today are the most powerful- think Barack or Vlad.

This isn't just us however, it's been the fabric of history since the fall of man. Cain killed Abel, the Egyptians enforced slavery and we've had more wars for land then I think there's been episodes of Days of our Lives. Then of course, there's our good friends the Romans. These people who loved throwing people to Lions for entertainment, who felt the necessary punishment for those who did wrong was to nail them on a cross to suffer a long and painful death. The Romans were conquerors and loved violence, seeing it as the great example of their power in the public domain.

They would have seen the death of Jesus as just another example (even if they washed their hands of it) of the dominance of the Roman empire over all.

The thing is though, in Jesus' resurrection, this whole idea is tipped on it's head. Jesus had every chance after he was risen by his heavenly Father to go out there and tell his disciples to seek vengeance. Every chance to call a plague or destruction of the Roman empire and Jewish life.

But he didn't.

Instead, when Peter cut the ear off one of the people trying to arrest Jesus, Jesus told him to put away his sword and healed the man. When Jesus rose from the dead, he went and greeted the disciples and his first words after that were Peace be with you. There was no violence, no hatred and no power games. There was just peace and a call to share that message to the world.

Long before Jesus death and resurrection, we saw the value and power of this very different way of thinking. Jesus through his willingness to talk to anyone including the Levites, Samaritans and many others, converted many and made them believe. After his resurrection, this message, carried by the disciples- would change the world as we know it.

Even today, in the midst of war and on going power struggles (think Syria, Ukraine) the greatest joy is found in the areas where peace and community reign. No matter how much money, power or property a person has, they will never match the happiness of those in third-world Africa, who while they have nothing, dance and celebrate on a regular basis like they have won the lottery.

Each Easter, we are reminded of this message through the amazing joy that we receive in the rising of Jesus. It is not just the fact that we have won that gives us joy, but it's the fact that we feel at peace with the world, that we know that through Christ rising from the dead, we are saved and that while we may still have to fight many more battles ahead, we do so in the peace of knowing our Saviour did this all before, and like Him, we can come through the other side.

There is no value in power, no worth in war (however we value the brave ones who fight in it to try to secure peace) and there's no reason for violence.

Jesus shows us every Easter that the key to salvation is through peace. It is the choice to love one another even through the hard times, to work out differences without resulting to violence and the ability to be a community that we experience true joy in the world we live in. He built a Church around His mother being in community with His beloved disciple and sharing that with the rest of the group. He changes our lives every year through a sign of true humility and love for all. There is no gun, no nuke or no missile which could achieve what Jesus does in the space of three days.

And with this in mind, my Easter prayer to you is that you let peace be in your hearts and share peace with the world- it is the legacy of Jesus and it is the true way to achieve greatness in the world today.

Have a blessed Easter season :)

Opinion: The crown of thorns- a real sign of hope for us all...

So it's Holy Thursday here in Australia. A time for the beginning of one of the most important moments in the Christian calendar- the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's a time that I really treasure as it shows every one of us in real terms the steps Jesus took for us to be saved and for me, there's no better representation of this then the Cross and the Crown of Thorns.

The value of the Cross is well known and to be honest, I don't think really needs an explanation. If you want to know why a Cross is used, feel free to watch the Passion of the Christ or visit any of the many Stations of the Cross services held across the country tomorrow. 

But why a crown of thorns? Why not any other painful implement that could damage, but not kill? Why was this the chosen pain method?

Growing up, I always thought of the crown of thorns as an unnecessary addition to the Passion story, much in the same way I did the fact that as people we have to act as the crowd and tell off Jesus. We can already see he was carrying a cross, dying for us and being treated like dirt. Why then do we have to act like the crowd heckling him and further more, why did he have to have a twisted mess of thorns dug into his head?

It's that exact description mentioned above however that today makes me truly believe that there is no other way that Christ's love for us could have been represented. 

The crown of thorns is perfect in that it is imperfect in every way. It is lots of painful, thorny bushes, each twined together to create the ultimate pain machine. With one branch, it's painful enough, but get a few and twist them together, and the pain is amplified, especially when it's dug into the skin.

The idea of thorns relates back to the days of the fall of man and I believe it, above anything else, is a perfect representation of our brokenness as people. We each sin and are hurt and this can be painful and draw us to turn away from love and feeling worthy. The thing is though that we don't just do this once, we do it time and time again, and over time, we build up our sin and it twists in our lives like the crown of thorns, creating immense pain. The crown of thorns is a literal way of showing our twisted, messed up lives.

Jesus knows this and wants to alleviate our suffering. It's why he is willing to have the crown of thorns placed on his head. He wants us to be freed from all our brokenness and pain and like the cross, for him to carry it. It is, along with cross, a sign of the immense love God has for every one of us, that while He realises we do wrong, He is always wanting to bring us towards Him and His grace and love and mercy, no matter what the cost.

The crown of thorns also provides a great visual example of the pain, betrayal and anguish that is happening around Jesus. Just as the thorns represent the twisted mess our lives can sometimes get in, they were doing the same for the lives of the disciples including Peter and Judas, who during this time betrayed the man they called the Son of God and either ran away, denied or sold Him out.

The thing is though, just like how Jesus took away the pain by taking on the literal crown of thorns, He does the same in a metaphoric sense for first the disciples when He appears to them after the resurrection and then for Peter. All He asks for them to do, is to turn back to Him and believe.

A priest I was talking to the other day made a very interesting point. He said that there is no difference between Peter and Judas in the Passion. Both betray Jesus, both commit sin and both feel extremely hurt by it. The difference is how they deal with the crown of thorns now placed on their heads. Judas turns away and takes his life after realising his error, while Peter trusts in God- he's the first one who runs in to the tomb when the women tell the disciples that the stone has been rolled away. He could have been met by Roman Soldiers who arrested him or by thieves but he risked that possibility for the love of God.

It is the same with each one of us standing here today. We all are broken, we all struggle with pain, addictions, hurts and our sinful nature. The great thing is though is that we have a God who loves us so much that he wants to free us of all of this and all we have to do is like Peter, turn back to Him and believe.

This Easter season, my invitation to each of you is to look at the crown of thorns in your life and take them to Christ. Ask him to help free you from your pain and if you feel there's sin or hurt that needs to be alleviated, then go to confession and ask for God's forgiveness and mercy.

We need not wear the crown of thorns- Jesus has already offered to take that role for us and for that, we should be forever grateful.

The journey is just as important as the destination... P.S. Includes HIMYM Finale spoilers!

Ah the word journey... a word that thanks to the Board of Studies NSW and my last two years of highschool, I learnt to dislike so much I pretty much use to dry wretch when people mentioned it. In all honesty though, it's an important word and as I'm finding out these days, an important part of life (case in point, the title of this blog).

I remember growing up, it was all about the destination and in a lot of cases it still is- wanting the perfect life of job, partner, friends, money- it was all about how to get that and never so much about what was happening at the time. Many a moment was spent complaining about the fact I was nowhere nearer to my goal or calculating how I'm going to get to the next step of my grand master plan to be successful in life.

In the last few years however, I started to veer away from that, started to see that there was more to life than just getting to a place. I remember reading a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson one day in a book at uni that said:

"Life is a journey, not a destination."

As that thought sat in my brain for the months afterwards, it made me start to realise the fact that I should be enjoying the moments I am in and I'm glad to say in a lot of ways, I've done that the last few years. I know there are many times I am grateful for even if I didn't reach the goal I originally set out to achieve, because I got to spend time with amazing people and do amazing things anyway.

The thing is though, I'm not perfect and more than that, I'm one of the most guilty of doing something that a lot of people do in life- that being- evaluating life based on the destination.

No matter how much I try to enjoy the journey, I'm always evaluating whether I'm headed towards the destination, always focusing on the fact I'm not anywhere near the place I want to be and always looking at why I'm not there.

Now in a lot of ways, that's not a bad thing. Let no one ever say that having a destination is not important. I honestly believe that we all need to have some plan for our lives as it gives them purpose and a reason to get up in the morning. Even if the destination is to be able to say at the end of life I have been friendly to as many people as I can be, it's important as it will ensure that from this you are kind and respectful to people on a daily basis, making them feel more valued and in the end making the world a better place.

The problem arises when we let the destination become all we think about. Recently at times, as I search for work and settle back into a normal life, it's been a case of this becoming all too common a part of my life. These days, whenever this occurs, I try to spend time doing something I enjoy, not just because I like it, but more so, to remind me about having fun in the moment.


On Tuesday, one of these times, I was watching the final episode of How I Met Your Mother and to be honest, at the end of it, I was kind of shocked at how it all panned out as I know many people were. We waited nine years to find out about the mother, who as we find out in this episode is named Tracy, only to find out Ted only gets to have a decade with her and then she gets ill and passes away. We had a whole season of Barney and Robin's wedding only for this episode to show that they get divorced three years later due to Robin's work schedule. We end with the story not actually meant to be focusing on How Ted met his wife, but on how Ted still has feelings for Robin and them trying again... in the grand scheme of the last season, it kinda sucked.

The thing is though, as I thought about this final episode a bit more, I realised something. This series was never about the end destination, which still wasn't known even at the end of the show! It was about something else. It was about the nine years of fun, laughs and memories that were shared in the quest for the destination, and the many more years of fun, laughs and memories to come afterward.

It didn't mirror the Hollywood fairy tale (ok the end perhaps did), but the rest didn't- it mirrored life. Even more however, this show demonstrated the importance of any moment in time. As an audience we gained joy in finally meeting Tracy and seeing Ted truly happy, we felt warmth at how Barney and Robin helped each other grow up in their own crazy way. These moments, sadly, didn't last forever, but in the moment, they provided something special. Real life is filled with ups and downs, filled with highlights and tragedies, filled with memories that are meant to be the real celebration- not getting to the end of the line.

This is why taking notice of the things that happen in a journey is so important. We can say we've been on a road trip from one city to another, but what really makes the story exciting and memorable all those years later is the things that occurred along the way- the fast food stops, the car ride songs, the discovery of crazy things on the journey (it's why for a lot of us, road trips are so much fun).

The same goes with life. There's no use getting to the end of our lives and saying that we reached there without having a single memory of how we got there. If it wasn't for the journey, we wouldn't be able to celebrate our overcoming of adversity, revel in the successes or grow closer in the tough times.

So here's the invitation to you all, and one I'm taking up as well. From today onwards, pick a destination for your life, but spend the hours of your day focusing and enjoying the journey. This life is only for a very short time in the grand scheme of things, so make sure you make the most of every moment of it.

Till next time...