Fr. Kokto Kurian
The great feast of Easter reminds the simplest truth about Christ’s active presence in the world. No matter what the reality is – joy or sadness, happiness or pain – Jesus Christ is still alive amidst that concreteness rescuing from the mechanisms of sin and death. The Father’s voice in raising His Son Jesus is loud and clear: “You deserve better than this.” The long story of Naga history and its present atmosphere will tell of the need of risen Christ more than ever. Christ’s victory in its entirety got to resonate Nagas, both individually as well as collectively, as clearly as it did on Calvary. Only then can we spare ourselves of mimicking the event that happened once long time ago.
To begin with, let us pick the violence and killings taking place within the Naga family. Has the resurrection of Christ any say on this? Easter, the most important feast of Christian faith, celebrates God who faces death so frankly, outstares it with the power of His own love. He gives death no permission to hold Jesus as a victim of other people’s violence. Thus, God protests against violence and death through resurrection. In this way resurrection becomes God’s answer to those who injure life in anyway – be it factional killings, killing for ransom, abortion or any other acts/structures that prevent the fullness of life. When God is sweeping aside death in the resurrection of Christ what can a society so akin to shedding blood, to destroy life learn?
Jesus Christ has through his death and resurrection reconciled the human race (Nagas included) to the Father. How and where does risen Reconciler come in our “Journey of Common Hope”, “33% Reservation”, “Frontier Nagaland” etc. The celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ heralds a new beginning all the way. But none can begin anew before dying to one’s old selfish ways. The numerous consultations and appeals are attaining less newness because many, beginning with the leaders, are frightened to die to their old self. But what resurrection of Christ teaches us is that the process of dying to self is the way to rise – rise to God and others. That old “I” has to die and rise to see something new. This is exactly what the doctrine of Baptism teaches us (die with Christ and rise to life with him) and this we renew at Easter Vigil Service every year. At the base of Easter celebration lies the question of our identity as Christians. Is ours a Christian state with nominal Christians as majority? Where is the Faith in Action?
It looks absurd to believe that “we deserve better than this” with the whole job situation lurking gloom in Nagaland. How can this be when the homeless, clothless and foodless frequent our streets? With helps and rights usurped by the few, the majority find it hard to make both ends meet. Therefore the less privileged choose the shortcut of extortion and the advantaged, corruption. These two methods are frequenting the streets and offices of our state. Has Easter any message for this state of affairs? Yes! Still it is just a beautiful thing to celebrate that God is with us. The lesson that it is only by doing the will of God (right and just) that one finds joy in pain and happiness in success. Remember Jesus did not raise himself; he was raised by God.
Likewise, the resurrection of Jesus proclaims a message to people of all walks of life and age. The lesson that God’s beloved sons and daughters cannot be kept in death because someone else takes action on them. The resurrection of Christ educates the young and the old not to genuflect to the powers of darkness that use sin and death as their tool – be at school, office, home or field. May the Risen Christ walk among us, enabling us to transform the present reality into what we truly deserve, that is, life in fullness.
