Ever sat on the edge of you seat, wondering if a movie character will live or die? Ever succumb to worry, while waiting for news about a loved one, who is in a critical situation? Ever dread reading a newspaper or cringe at negative entries on Facebook?
There are so many ways that a crucial event can end, but really, there are only three outcomes. 1. Good is defeated by evil. To believe in this tragic vision of life is to choose depression and a lack of meaning as the ultimate human reality. 2. Good and evil are locked in an endless battle. To select this mixed bag as the truth is to espouse dualism over the message of the Gospel. 3. Good triumphs over evil. This outcome is what followers of Jesus, our redeemer, are called to embrace as a way of life.
Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again and again and again! So “praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3
When our grandson was about three, he would toddle over with a huge pile of books for us to read; then snuggle up close, ready for an adventure. One day, Therese finished the first book with the words, “The End!” Edward was intrigued. Then came the second book, which concluded with, “The End!” After the third book, Edward didn’t even want to read the whole story, just the last page, with “The End!” Book after book crossed over Therese’s lap with the same result. Edward’s eyes got bigger and bigger, until he broke out into an uproarious laugh.
We too can be like Edward, because every trial, every daily story, is truly so infused with God’s loving presence, that we can say, “Jesus, you are the beginning and THE END. I choose you, even in the midst of every darkness. Give me the grace to believe that you will triumph and give me life everlasting. The End!”