"Who [indeed] is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"
I saw something recently that said that only 39% of Americans thought that religion was very important. That is down by around 30 percent from years past. Media, both mainstream and social, are pushing hard for the idea that Christianity is dying. More and more people are embracing the belief that God is dead.
But, to quote the great GK Chesterton, "I have said that Asia and the ancient world had an air of being too old to die. Christendom has had the very opposite fate. Christendom has had a series of revolutions and in each one of them Christianity has died. Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it had a [G]od who knew the way out of the grave. "
Today is a day that we remember that death is not the final defeat. Even though the world may claim victory, that victory is always temporary. Final victory is with those who stand with Christ. He is our Final Victory.
It is true that more and more people are extinguishing the light of Christ inside of them. And some never have that light kindled in the first place.
I was at the Easter Vigil Mass last night. It always strikes me how it opens: the church in complete darkness, but then one candle enters to pierce the dark. And that one candle of Christ lights all the other candles until the whole place is filled with light.
In our world, darkness keeps trying to overwhelm us. But we must remember "The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:6)
In fact, it is when things get darker that our light matters most. When the church lights are turned on, we extinguish our candles because they do not add much. But when it is dark, our candles mean so much more. It is the same with our light. In times of great prosperity and faith, our small acts of faith may not seem all that important. But as more and more of the world turns away from the Light of the World, our candles need to burn bright.
Today we stand with Christ. Today we light the flame in our hearts to expel the darkness.
Today we remember that we have victory not because of ourselves, but because Jesus won it for us.
He is Risen.
Alleluia!
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