The story of Easter is told this year in a context where many of our key ‘institutions’ are under serious scrutiny -and it is right that it should be so. Institutions are necessary for the ordering of society, but they can take on a life of their own and become self-serving. That applies, of course, not only to the institutions of politics and society, but also -and equally- to the institutions of the church, which can be just as fallen, just as sinful, and even more profoundly disappointing, because they claim to exist for the sake of Jesus Christ.
Holy Week is a time when the institutions of Jesus’ day are exposed for what they really were. Judas, the financier of the disciples, had become selfishly attached to money, and was prepared to sell his soul for a few pieces of silver. Pilate was a political leader without the courage of his convictions, prepared to wash his hands of decisions which would not gain the popularity of the masses. And the religious leadership of the day was not prepared to brook any opposition to their status and control – even if that meant destroying the Son of God.
In the midst of it all, Jesus stands out, both in one sense as the victim of the institution, and as the perfect example of One who knew what was truly important for the human spirit – a deep and loving relationship with the Heavenly Father, which is beyond and above any religious structures, and can never be contained in human systems.
Institutions do actually matter in society: we would be in chaos without them. But this week is a serious reminder of their weakness and Easter Day is a confirmation of something even more important to grasp: that the power and life of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is set and seen even more clearly when we find ourselves in the context where human institutions let us down. Institutions grow up, and institutions have their day, but the power and reality of the living Christ endure for ever.
May you have a truly blessed Easter in the presence of the Lord of Life.
–The Rt. Rev. Harold Miller