The End is Really a Beginning

It is now Wednesday in Holy Week where I am, and the streets are
still busy with traffic. People are moving about doing their jobs
and engaging in their business, while the youth are busy enjoying
their summer vacation. For many people, they might forget that
the Lenten journey is moving towards a climax - with Easter vigil
as the apex that opens us to a new beginning and a new life in
Easter Sunday.

By Holy Thursday, the noise in the streets will start to diminish.
And on Good Friday, the streets will be like a desert - no cars,
and no people. People will pay their respects to God by going
to the fully-packed Holy Week services in churches all over the
country.

Holy Week services are always very, very solemn. One can feel the
seriousness of an event in human history which transformed part of
human civilization into a life-giving force. And the source of
this life-giving force is the sacrifice of God's own Son, who had
to die on the cross for the salvation of humanity and creation.

Upon hearing the gospel of the burial of Jesus, we feel as if
something ended and died. But contrary to human reason and what
we know, an unprecedented event happened that converged human time
and history into something eternal - the Resurrection of Jesus.
The end that we are really accustomed to believe in as the end,
has become the beginning of a new life. And Christ, the Son of
God, taught this truth by His being raised from the dead through
the power of the Holy Spirit.

As we will soon celebrate the gift of Easter, let us not forget
that it is not just a one day celebration. It would be celebrated
for fifty days - culminating in the Solemnity of Pentecost. On
Pentecost Sunday, we will celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit
upon Mary and the apostolic community. Through the Spirit's
creative life-force, the Church was born. Life then began to have
a new meaning for many people in the world. It would be a life
now lived in the Spirit.