My dear people in the Risen Lord,

When I am asked to write this little message for this meaningful season of Easter, I am delighted to share with you this message.

"Easter says that
you can put the Truth in a grave
but it won't stay there."

Let me share with you this little story which happened in 1972.

Charles Colson, the former counsel of President Richard Nixon, convicted conspirator in the Watergate scandal, writes that the Watergate cover up convinced him that Jesus was raised from the dead.

He said, "there were only seven of us in the inner circle around the president who really knew what was going on." He said, "all we had to do was stonewall for a couple of months and the Watergate scandal would be over. We had all the power and prestige of the presidency at our fingertips. And if the truth broke, there would be embarrassment and perhaps a prison sentence. There was no grave danger. Our lives were not threatened, but we could not hold the conspiracy together for more than 2 weeks. We could not contain the lie."

Colson concludes, "I know that the disciples could not perpetuate a lie like the resurrection, because it was not just their reputations that were at stake, their lives were in danger. They had no clout, they had nothing to gain by the lie and yet everyone of them stood fast in the conviction that Jesus is alive.

Take it from one who saw first hand how vulnerable a cover up is: Nothing less than a witness as awesome as the resurrected Christ could have caused those men to maintain to their dying whispers that Jesus is alive and He is Lord!"

Easter reminds us that every Good Friday in our lives will have an Easter Sunday, and that Jesus will let us share the power of his resurrection. Each time we display our love of others, we share in the resurrection. Each time we face a betrayal of trust, we share in the resurrection of Jesus. In short, the message of Easter is that nothing can destroy us – pain, sin, rejection, death – because Christ has conquered all these, and we too can conquer them if we put our faith in Him.

Tomb, you could not hold Him longer,
Death is strong, but life is stronger
Stronger than the dark, the light;
Stronger than the wrong, the right;
Faith and hope triumphant say;
Christ rose on Easter Day.

Yours in the Risen Lord,

Father Lawrence