One of the big movies this Easter is The Hunger Games, based on the novel by Suzanne Collins. You may be familiar with the plot. It is set in a future where America no longer exists and has been renamed Panem. The country is divided into 12 ‘Districts’ and is very strictly ruled by the central government which is called the Capitol.
Every year the Capitol requires each District to send two young people between the age of 12 - 18 to take part in the ‘The Hunger Games’ which is quite simply a fight to the death, the winner being the last boy or girl standing. This is a punishment for a rebellion that took place sometime in the past and is a method of control over the population.
It’s a pretty horrible idea and some people have been a bit worried that the original book is actually classified as ‘Children’s Fiction.’ But what impressed me about the book and the movie are the positive qualities which are shown by many of the characters, especially the main character a girl called Katniss Everdean. There is violence and fear and death but there is also compassion, kindness and self-sacrifice. People willing to put the needs of others before their own. In fact, the only reason Katniss is at the Games is that she volunteered to take the place of her younger sister.
That’s something that I see when I read the passage which we heard this morning from the Bible. Jesus is being crucified and that was one of the most horrible forms of torture that was ever devised, putting maximum strain on every nerve, muscle and joint. But in the midst of this we hear him praying for the people who were inflicting this suffering on him. We see him being kind to one of the criminals who is crucified with him. We see him dying for the sins of the world, giving his life for the benefit of others.
It’s when that spirit touches men and women that we see humankind at it’s best. When people are under severe pressure we really don’t expect them to be giving much but somehow many do. I have a t-shirt which says ‘This Shirt Is Illegal In 63 Countries’. The reason it’s illegal is because it has a small cross printed on it. There are many places where to be a Christian is to live a very uncertain life in which you might lose your job, your children might be denied education and you may lose your freedom completely. And yet these people carry on believing and still remain committed to living a Christian life. And the reason they are able to carry on is not just that they are inspired by Jesus‘ example. They believe that his suffering wasn’t the end of the story. His suffering led to his death but on the third day after that he rose again as a sign that His Spirit would always be with His people in this life. And even if their circumstances lead to their death they would come through that to live a life of completeness and fulfillment in the place we call Heaven.
That’s what Easter means to me. The message is that even the worst circumstances can be lit up when people show love for one another. But because of the Resurrection of Jesus the message goes beyond this life. We are not given too many details about Heaven in the Bible but we are promised that all our suffering will be behind us and the love of Christ, the justice of Christ and the peace of Christ will be triumphant over everything that is wrong in this life.
