...Yes there is hope.

      Years ago, a hydroelectric dam was to be constructed across a valley in New England. The people of a small town located in the valley were to be relocated to another area due to the fact that, after the construction of the dam was completed, the town would be totally submerged. During the time between the decision to build the dam and its completion, the buildings and homes in the town, which were always kept up nicely, fell into a state of disrepair. Instead of being the beautiful little town it had always been, it became something of an eyesore. A resident of the town was asked why this happened. The reply was simple and direct, "When there is no hope in the future, there is no work in the present."

      I think this story illustrates an important aspect of human character. When we have no hope for the future, it can be quite difficult to motivate the activities of the present. Perhaps this condition is at the core of the senseless tragic destruction, which so often plagues our society. We see it so often in the news that it even loses its shock value after a while. As frightening as it seems, we have become somewhat conditioned to the hopeless acts of desperate people. Where will it all go? What, as a world, will we become? These questions continue to haunt us as humankind struggles to embrace some sense of hope in what often appears to be a hopeless world.

      The season of Lent and its culmination in the celebration of Jesus' resurrection on Easter Sunday serves as a poignant reminder that, in the midst of struggle, there is a hope which will always endure, a hope which has redeemed humankind from the pit of despair. For a moment, try to imagine what it was like for Jesus' disciples in the aftermath of his death. They cowered in a room behind a locked door hiding from an angry and threatening world with only the memory of a good friend and teacher who had met with an untimely and tragic death. A memory, which seemed to be preserved only by a body, which was laid to rest in a borrowed tomb. For now, they could see little else.

      Or, perhaps, we can share in Mary Magdalene's despair as she stands outside an empty tomb uttering these tearful words, "They have taken away my Lord, and I don't know where they have put him." Frantically she searches for a lost piece of her life among the remnants of death. But then, the risen Christ calls her name, and, in an instant, the chains of despair fall from her heart. She becomes the first "Easter Person," filled with hope, and ready to live again.

      The events of this day set in motion a ministry which continues to endure and to bring hope into a world which cries for truth and meaning. A ministry, which has been placed in our hands as the people of God. Yes, my friends, there is hope. You see, like Mary, we are "Easter People." The love of God, given to us in Jesus Christ has broken the chains of despair, which bind our hope for the future. And we have been empowered and enabled to work in the present. We have been called to bring this love into a desperate world, to transform it into a place of hope and promise.

      May this Easter season touch your heart with the timeless beauty of God's love and may you live each day working with renewed energy, ever looking forward with the hope of a bright and promising tomorrow.