Read an excerpt from “Hard to Believe” below, then read the full story.
“To their minds the story was madness and they could not believe it.”
There is a pessimism that persists in our spiritual thinking, despite our claims that we prefer to “accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.” The darker side of life is always more convincing and interesting than the brighter. Bad news makes headlines; good news rarely does.
The Good News of the Resurrection is no exception. Many Christians can tell the story of our Lord’s suffering and death in great detail, from the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem to the Last Words from the Cross. But few know the Gospel story of the Risen Life.
We believe the Good News, of course, as it is the very basis of our faith. Logically, we know that if Christ had not risen from the dead, we would be fools to be Christians.
For several reasons, though, we find it difficult to fully grasp the truth of the Resurrection, either spiritually or emotionally.
Part of the problem is that we have no traditions and customs surrounding the feast to help us savor it, as we do for Christmas, for instance. There is nothing for Easter to compare with the carols or the crèche to kneel before to catch the wonder of Bethlehem.