From Lent to Easter

So for this edition of our newsletter, my colleague asked me if I could write her an article on what lent is. Obviously, I was thinking too highly of my writing skills when I agreed, only to realize that I was depending on skills I didn’t have (Sigh!). Her deadline for me was Tuesday, April 5 and since I am at times a big believer of ‘what can be done tomorrow should only be done tomorrow’, I thought I’d wait for the long Ugadi weekend to put in to words.

As luck would have it, I didn’t quite have a free weekend. In fact, I was travelling to Vizag to attend a program. Since it was the weekend and the World Cup fever was on (India won! India won! Woohooo!!!!), my evenings were pretty much free. I walked up to the beach and was in awe of the ocean – it's magnificence, it's strength, the power it held to draw me and gobble me up in no time, the humility it showed in gently caressing my feet as it washed across the shore, and the uncanny sense of peace and calm it emits. As I watched the waves trickling to my feet, I looked around and saw the rocks that kept the waves from reaching me with zest. I got a little annoyed but stepped a bit further in to the ocean and while doing so, couldn’t help but wonder why people thought the ocean was hypnotic. And, then, I suddenly realized what they meant – I found myself, face to face with this huge wave that was rushing towards me and I could for that moment, understand what all those people felt when they saw the tsunami gush their way – okay the wave that came toward me was not as big as a tsunami wave but the fear it generated was all the same. What I didn’t realize was that while I was lost in the beauty of the ocean, the sand beneath my feet slipped away and drew me in. I shut my eyes and hoped I wouldn’t die. But to my surprise and great relief (believe you me!), the wave that hit me was not as powerful as I anticipated it to be. As I looked around, I realized that the intensity with which the wave came didn’t change. What made the difference was what was between the wave and me – a rock!

I thought of what just happened. The rock that stood before me as a hurdle was something that I was now grateful for. I realized how true that sentiment held to life itself. I realized that each of us, in our own way, crib and cry about rocks that come in our way. But what we fail to realize is that they’re probably the only things that are keeping the storm at bay. Thrilled at my insight, I walked back to the shore and realized that what I’d learnt was exactly what Lent was about – a time of reflection on the cross of Christ – the cross that even today, stands between my sin and me. The only difference between the rock in the ocean and the cross of Christ, is that though the wave hit the rock, the water was still there. But when my sin met the cross, it was like my sin never existed in the first place.

Good Friday is a day that commemorates Christ’s death on the cross, as a full and complete sacrifice for the sin of all mankind, breaking the barrier between God and man, demonstrating the greatest expression of love. And, Easter celebrates the resurrection of Christ, as a victory over sin and death, a reminder that all things do work out for good, that good will reign over evil, that life will reign over death.

If today, you feel like there is a lot happening in your life and the burden of it all is too much to bear, don’t lose hope. If the night is here, then the dawn isn’t too far away. If Good Friday is here, then Easter is sure to come.