The decline of Christianity in America has led to the decline of redemption and the concept of forgiveness. Forgiveness is the backbone of the Christian faith, most notably in Catholicism where the concept of sin is matched with the grace of confession, repentance and forgiveness.
Easter is the moment on the liturgical calendar that represents the faith of grace, the necessity of forgiveness. And while Christmas, with its gift giving and festivity merges into a secular celebration, Easter, the day that encompasses the mystery of Christian faith, is buried, its meaning lost, and its day overshadowed.
Easter is the day Jesus rose from the dead. It follows a week he spent in Jerusalem, where he attended Passover seder before being executed for his speech, then was buried in a tomb.
Christ went into Jerusalem those many years ago to celebrate the feast of Passover with his apostles, his closest friends. He broke bread with them knowing that his fate was to be betrayed. He knew that one of his friends would snitch on him to the authorities, while another would deny knowing him outright and repeatedly.
He prayed on it, asking these men not to fall asleep while he prayed in the garden, to keep him company, to not let him be alone with the terror of what was facing them. But they were weak, they slept on while he faced the horror alone.
He was betrayed not only by his friends but by his countrymen, who knew he'd done nothing wrong yet were so offended by his words that they craved his death and set a murderer free instead of him. He carried his own cross, the means of his execution, through the center of town while crowds jeered at him.
He knew there was no way out of this fate, though he begged God in heaven to take the burden from him. While on a cross, nails through his hands and feet, a mocking crown on thorns smashed onto his head, while his lungs collapsed under the weight of his own body and he suffocated in the hot sun, he forgave.
Jesus forgave God for the suffering he endured in his father's name. And he forgave us. He forgave all of us, he forgave us for everything, for the sins we had committed, for the sins of mankind yet to come. His arms wide open on the cross were for us to fall into.
The embrace of Christ is so complete, and his love so immense, his grace so powerful, that there is no man or woman who is barred from seeking that grace. Any of us who ask for forgiveness, who weep at the shocking revelation of God's grace will receive it. That light of God's love is in us all, we were born with that love to guide us if only we seek it.
Yet, it's hard to believe. Faith is hard to find. It is monstrously difficult in our age of material wealth, rationalism, and reason to believe the legends of thousands of years ago, to believe that forgiveness is so fully available to us. There's no shame in struggling with faith, or with seeking it out, with asking Christ to guide your heart to grace.
We are not better than those men who betrayed Jesus two thousand some years ago. We are not better than the rabid mob that condemned him to death. And like them, we are not so far gone that forgiveness is not possible. We need only ask and it will be give us.
But it is not just for God to forgive, but for us to extend the grace of God's love to our brothers and sisters. It behooves all of us to seek God's grace this Easter, to ask forgiveness for our sins, to be redeemed in the blood of Christ, and to walk into life with faith and love.
It is possible to forgive. It is possible to be redeemed. And it is through forgiveness, and through redemption, that it is possible to heal our nation.
