The glory of Easter

At the centre of our humanity there is a great contradiction.  On the one hand we as individuals see ourselves as unique, worthy and special deserving recognition, respect, dignity and nurturing.

But on the other hand we are reminded, by those close to us, by our conscience, by other external forces that we are flawed, and often as we age seriously flawed.  We certainly see depravity in other people if not in ourselves.  And this dichotomy is never addressed by our self proclaimed progressive society.

But Christians can face it.  The Easter story looks at the clash between human dignity and worth and human depravity full in the face.  Christians can begin to see the infinite worth and value of every person yet at the same time recognise our depravity.  We don't have to deny the glorious heights or reject the abject depths of human experience.  The Christian understanding of this is compelling as Easter highlights that our creator God has reconciled these two extremes. 

God who came among us and took on our humanity also took on himself our burden of brokenness, sin and deceit which humanity shows time after time that we are unwilling and unable to bear.  This is the essence of Easter.  Instinctively we know that justice must be done, that evil must be exposed and punished and that a righteous and just God will punish wickedness.  This conviction gives us a fear and dread of death. 

But justice has been done, God who as Jesus came as one of us, took on himself the punishment meant for us and has set us free.  Because of Jesus I can rejoice in my liberty and look dispassionately at my degradation.  Without Jesus I must pretend.

Our atheistic secular society copes with this contradiction by pretending it doesn't exist.  Right and wrong are played down and distinctions between good and evil are fudged.  Unpleasant reality is ignored and denied.   ….   Statements questioning popular projects are ridiculed (eg the EU, gender issues).  …..

The highest virtue in secularism is tolerance.  The range of experience that is regarded as tolerable is determined by a person's understanding and history of what is acceptable.  That which is outside his experience might not be tolerated, might even be violently rejected.  Our tolerance threshold is complex and determined by social fashion and is variable and tolerance belongs to the same dysfunctional family as political correctness.  PC determines what is acceptable as truth in the public domain and carries with it the seeds of tyranny.  The way social media seems to operate illustrates 
this.  And Brian Wilson wrote in 1995, "Toleration is only a limited licence.  It is not an avowal of religious liberty.  It is a concession by those who enjoy power to those who are excluded from it". Concessions can be revoked.

If you are an unpleasant person outside my tolerance range I will despise you and seek to put you down in all sorts of ways.  But as a Christian I am under orders not to excuse your degradation, but with a modicum of Christian love relate to you.