The Pain and Misery of the Crucifixion Came Before the Glory of the Resurrection

 I don’t normally post about religion. I see faith and the relationship with the Almighty as personal and in many ways private. We relate to the Almighty in different ways and when you comment on the relationship, you’re bound to stir unnecessary passions. Covid-19 has also put the religious establishment under the spotlight and in many cases they’ve failed miserably. There were plenty of sad examples of religious leaders in proverbial “Shithole” countries telling people to feat the Almighty and not the virus. Unfortunately, this wasn’t just limited to “backwater” countries. America, the world’s most advanced nation in human history was plagued by jet-setting pastors who chose to tell their congregation that they would be cured by touching their screens and that they could continue paying tithes despite losing their jobs:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/kenneth-copeland-blow-coronavirus-pray-sermon-trump-televangelist-a9448561.html

 

However, while the Charlatans of all faiths manage to grab the headlines, I do believe that there is good that comes from having faith. I am with the Dalai Lama when asked about which was the best religion – his answer being “The One that Makes You a Better Person.” The Dalai Lama, to his credit, was a religious leader who made it a point to reach out and to befriend other leaders. His friendship with the late Pope John Paul II was one of the best living examples of interfaith friendships.

 

Anyway, I like to think that religion does bring out the good in as much as it does bring out the bad. As it will be Good Friday, I believe that one of the best lessons that religion can bring people is hope. This is an especially important point during a global crisis like the current pandemic, when it becomes especially easy to get pessimistic about things. The best example comes from most backbone of the Christian faith – namely the fact that Jesus rose from the dead – he conquered death and those who follow him would have eternal life.

Now, it’s been easy for branches of the Christian faith to focus on the glory of his resurrection. Essentially these branches argue that Christ died for mankind’s sins and therefore being a Christian is to join a happy go-lucky club of instant joy and let’s not forget prosperity.

While this argument about Christianity and probably every other religion, it really doesn’t gel with the way life works. In fact, many people forget that Jesus had no money for the better part of his life, hung around the dregs of society and more importantly went through enormous suffering before there was any glory.

The “glory” of the Christian faith is the fact that Christ was able to overcome suffering. Fact remains, Good Friday, which commemorates the day that Jesus was crucified comes before Easter Sunday, the day when he is said to have overcome death.

What Jesus went through is in many ways like normal life. All of us experience good times and bad times. While most of us would prefer not to have any bad times. However, bad times do serve a purpose, which is to get us to work on our weaknesses.

Look at the 2008 financial crisis. Prior to 2008, banks were ridding high on creating innovative new products like the subprime. House prices were going up, people were going on a debt binge and economic statistics were heading north. However, the good times were built on shaky foundations and so, they collapsed. Sure, bankers were thrown out of work and people suffered from the collapse of financial institutions. However, the “bad” times and the suffering that came with them made the financial institutions get their act together and the survivors emerged stronger.

 

He Showed us that you need to go through this:

 

To Experience this:

So, the pandemic has caused pain and suffering. However, we need to remember that going through hard times is part of life. It’s not so much a question of how bad the times are but what we learn from them. Such, times allow us to prepare for the moment when the times ahead get better. Christ went through suffering but emerged from them with glory. It’s something that is worth remembering as most of us deal with the suffering and stress caused by the pandemic.