Wise People, Dignified Nation

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

Catholics follow a procession in commemoration of Good Friday at the Santa Theresia Catholic Church, Bongsari, Semarang, Central Java, Friday (19/4/2019). The visualization is part of an Easter series about the crucifixion of Jesus.

One day, a young man arrived at a village where people had lived unhappily for years because of various disputes.

The young man knocked on a door. He asked the lady opening the door for a meal. “Young one, forgive me, we have no more food,” the lady said.

“No matter, Ma’am. I have a magic stone that can make delicious food for everyone. Just give me a pot and some water. Prepare a fire and invite all the villagers,” the young man said.

After everyone arrived, he began stirring the water in the pot, sipped it and said: “This is tasty, but it will be tastier with vegetables.”

Some then said, “Oh, I have vegetables.” They went home and brought back some vegetables.

The young man continued stirring and said, “This is already tastier, but it will be perfect with meat and spices.” Some villagers then went home and brought back meat and spices. The young man said again, “The meal is ready, but there are no plates. Bring some plates, but do not come back here with empty ones.”

Everyone went home and back again, bringing plates filled with various fruits. They then ate together in joy. One of them said, “We have never felt joy and togetherness like this.”

The villagers had just experienced a life transformation. In Christian language, that is Easter.

New life

One of the most important symbols in an Easter ceremony is the Paschal candle. As all the lights in a church are turned off, the candle is lit in a ceremony at the front door to symbolize the beginning of a new life.

As the Paschal candle is brought into the church, its light is shared to everyone in the congregation, symbolizing the sharing of the new life. The darkened church will then be enlightened by the candles. In the candle-lit church, the congregation will sing songs of Easter praises and hear stories of God’s salvation.

God’s most decisive work for His people in the Old Testament is the liberation of slaves from Egypt (Exodus 12). The event will continuously be reminisced and relived – instead of merely remembered – as an always-actual event. That collective memory served as a terrific empowerment for God’s people in the Old Testament in fighting for survival and unity amid various challenges.

The Old Testament Easter is inseparable from the Covenant at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19-20). The covenant contains the Ten Commandments of God, namely a moral and legal code that His people have

to adhere to in order to become wise and dignified. However, as time went by, they betrayed their own identity and submitted themselves to false idols. They became ignorant.

Noble characters

Christian Easter is linked to humanity’s enslavement by sin. Men are naturally creatures of noble character that must serve The Creator. Men are given the Greatest Commandment as a reflection of Jesus’s character of His love and compassion until His death and resurrection for the salvation of those who believe in Him.

After salvation, men should be wise and dignified. Trusting people must lead new lives based on compassion and leave behind the old ways of living (compare: Romans 6:4-6). However, men are continuously tempted to worship false idols and betray their true selves.

False idols comprise not only great stones or trees but also greed (Ephesians 5:5). Idol worshippers are greedy people with an upside-down morality and value system. They let their lives be driven by desires for prestige, power and money.

A bigger idol in this modern age is greed supported by powers that justify any means, including lies, hatred, slander or hoaxes, to reach a desired end. The value system is increasingly topsy-turvy, and moral decline leads to crisis.

Celebrating Easter means accepting and sharing the light of belief and making it meaningful in everyday life, as symbolized by the Paschal candle. From the perspective of the Christian belief, Indonesia’s national history is a continuous Paschal event.

That belief is reflected in one of the most important prayers in the Catholic Church: “Throughout history, You have given great compassion to our nation. Thanks to the deeds of many heroes, You have fostered our awareness as a nation. We are grateful to You for this language that unites us as for Pancasila as the foundation of our independence” (Homeland Preface II).

This prayer encourages the people to continue nurturing our collective memory of the decisive events in our national history: the National Awakening, the Youth Pledge and the foundations of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia as God’s holy work. These events, according to Christian belief, are Paschal events that free us.

May the President and Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, legislators and all nation state leaders in Indonesia be sincere in working to achieve Indonesia’s dreams of independence, namely to transform all Indonesians into wise people and the nation into a dignified one. This is Easter.

Ignatius Suharyo, Jakarta Archbishop