Resurrection is the Manifestation of a Civilization of Love
By
TB GANDHI HARTONO SJ
·6 minutes read
Kompas/Angger Putranto
Catholics attendan Easter vigil at the Maria Ratu Damai Church in Banyuwangi, East Java, Saturday (15/4). Easter is celebrated to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus.
My heart has grown capable of taking on all forms. It is a pasture for gazelles, an abbey for monks, the Kaaba for pilgrims. My religion is love. Wherever the caravan of love takes me, that shall be the path of my faith. (Ibnu Arabi, 1165-1240 AD)
Ibnu Arabi once said that whatever a person’s religion, it is one that promotes love. Whoever the adherent may be, they are struggling to uphold the meaning of love, even if through tears. Love is a spirit and a longing for the love of The Creator.
In Latin, love is Per Amor Num Quam Satis. In Ibnu Arabi’s words, wherever a human being goes, the end goal must be to reach the Source of Love. However, in the history of mankind, love is dynamic and its meaning shifts as civilization advances.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ at Easter provides a perfect foundation for the meaning of love that is whole and pure. Love shows that God, the Almighty Creator, is real.
Personally, every human being is an extension of God’s love in spreading peace and salvation. This is the mission of resurrection in the life of mankind. Jesus as a person led a mission of love through the devotion of mind and body. He loved others without asking for anything in return and without any barrier but one: so that men could rise and defeat the death of self.
Situation and hope
Currently we are witnessing drama in the life of mankind that sometimes makes us apathetic and pessimistic. There is a show in the name of love toward God that looks down on others, corruption in the name of love for one’s country, quarrels among people’s representatives in the name of love for democracy and the killing of one’s friends, mothers and children in the name of love for oneself. People have the heart to drive away one another. Deeds are done in the name of love and yet contradict the meaning of true love as they lead to total destruction.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ was in stark contrast: a person that willingly sacrificed himself to lead mankind out of the darkness of “death” toward the light of life.
Currently, many unconsciously experience “death” while still living. Many are enshrouded in darkness amid shining light. Many are in despair when their fight to reveal the truth are twisted and turned inside out.
Goodness is paid back with cruelty. Love is rewarded with hate. “What is all this for? It is better to die.” Life becomes dark. People die while still alive.
Strangely, many are unaware of being shrouded in darkness. Many become emotional, stressful and desperate and eventually choose the shortcut of taking one’s own life. Why? It is because they are so preoccupied with being in darkness that they cannot see the true way out.
With the resurrection of Jesus, he wanted to show everyone that there is hope in life. The key is mankind’s response in being willing to work together and fight to love life, other people and other creations.
Hope of resurrection
According to Pope Francis, resurrection exists and many are struggling to attain it. Resurrection and hope exists for everyone willing to live and together take care of all lives.
In his encyclical, “Laudato Si’, mi ’Signore”, “Praise be to You, my Lord”, the Pope reminded all mankind to live together in one home that is the world. Within this house, mankind is of one family. Everyone shares the same space. It is a home without barriers, just like a mother who greets her children with open arms without seeing any difference in their faiths.
Our motherland is being destroyed and conflicts between people of different faiths abound. We should be united by one hope, namely our love for life. Erich Fromm explained in The Art of Loving that love is an active undertaking.
Love entails a freedom to choose, to be loved and to devote oneself to what we choose for the growth and salvation of those we love the most. When people dare to give, they get something in return. The courage to give will create happiness.
Therefore, love is not a passive-aggressive influence. Instead, it is active and dynamic and must be continuously fought for to create life. What should we struggle for to create hope? In resurrection, God sent man to embody the civilization of love.
God is working and will continue His work to awaken people willing to work together with Him. These are people who are willing to devote their minds, feelings and actions to actualize life. These are people willing to rise from their graves and bury all their personal weaknesses.
Most importantly in this is not that people have sacrificed their lives for others but that they have given the lives within them to create hope and joy of continuous living.
Rise!
In its journey, Indonesia is like a boat sailing through raging seas. How do we reach our destination? Staying put means certain doom! Moving forward is the only way to stay alive and approach our destination. The challenges of living in the age of progress are our assets that provide access to create generations that are caring toward life.
The problems of our nation and all of our deeds are part of the dynamic heart of mankind that is drifting in dreams based on self-obsessions that make us forget to stand tall. We have drifted so far away that we have unconsciously entered darkness.
We are living in a land that is loh jinawi, with abundant milk and honey, a tradition of harmony and kinship. However, we can no longer find the meaning of civilization. Therefore, rise and be aware that we are not enemies to each other but brothers and sisters of one ancestry and with one goal.
We must awaken from complacency and move to find peaceful solutions and create a civilization of love for the motherland. There should be no more movements in the name of God that bring destruction. God needs no defense as He is everything. Now He is resurrected to bring forth a civilization of love.
