Reflections from Czech priest and theologian Tomas Halik:
When we confess the Easter faith, at whose centre is the paradox of victory through an absurd defeat, why are we so afraid of our own defeats - including the demonstrable weaknesses of Christianity in the world of today? Isn't God speaking to us through these realities, as He did when He spoke through the events that we commemorate at Easter?
Yes, the form of religion to which we are accustomed is truly dying off. The history of religion and the history of Christianity consist of periods of crisis and periods of renewal; the only religion that is truly dead is one that does not undergo change, the one that has dropped out of that rhythm of life...At the present time, we are witnessing the withering away of a type of religion (and Christianity) that came into existence at the time of the Enlightenment - partly under its influence and partly in reaction to it. It is withering away with its own epoch. As on many occasions in history, this situation of faith can be interpreted optimistically or catastrophically: the optimistic interpretation offers various technical solutions (a return to premodern religion or a facile “modernisation of religion"). The catastrophic vision speaks (yet again) of Christianity's final demise.But I would suggest that we must interpret our present crisis as an Easter paradox. The mystery of Easter forms the very nub of Christianity, and precisely within that I see a method of dealing with the present problems of Christianity, religion and the world in which we live...The mystery of the Resurrection is not a feel-good happy ending, cancelling and annulling the mystery of the cross. One of the great theologians of the twentieth century, J.B. Metz, emphasized that when we proclaim the message of Resurrection “we must not silence the cry of the Crucified" - otherwise, instead of a Christian theology of Resurrection we offer a shallow “myth of victory."Belief in the Resurrection is not intended to make light of the tragic aspects of human life; it does not enable us to avoid the burden of mystery (including the mystery of suffering and death), or not to take seriously those who wrestle strenuously with hope, who “bear the burden and the heat of the day" of the external and internal deserts of our world. It does not assert some religious ideology or facile belief in place of following in the path of the crucified Christ...I consider genuine piety to be openness to the unmanipulated mystery of life. The God to whom I refer - and I am convinced that it is the God spoken of by Scripture and the Christian tradition - is not a “supernatural being" somewhere in the wings of the visible world, but a mystery that is the depths and foundation of all reality.
You can read the full article “The Paradox of Easter and the Crisis of Faith" here.
