Yesterday war against Iraq broke out.
Today the media has become obsessed by images of conflict and aggression.
The whole thing seems bizarre and obscene, forcing us to witness a killing machine in action.
Of course there are two sides to this madness – perhaps both as mad as the other.
But what has given rise to this situation and what drives this whole process forward?

FEAR!

Considering and reflecting on all the main characters in this tragic drama from Saddam Hussein and his cronies to George Bush, Tony Blair and their allies, to the Iraqi people and the Kurds and the Kuwaitis not to mention the Palestinians and the Israelis, the final answer is FEAR!

For many months and years the world will continue to split itself into those who are for and those against this military conflict, and have their own justification for their position.  

As we approach Easter, Christians are challenged to see current world events in the light of the Easter faith.

St. Matthew was one of a group of people who put into words what he saw in the resurrection

events. For him the great significance of the resurrection was the way it dispelled fear. So much had suddenly happened during the last week of the ministry of Jesus leading up to the crucifixion. Fear was uppermost in the minds of the friends of Jesus. They had seen Jesus crucified and feared for the future of his work. They wanted to pay their respects to their dear departed friend but feared for their own lives. They wanted to believe his teaching about resurrection, but feared it would turn out to be a myth. They wanted to play their part in furthering the kingdom he had talked of so many times, but feared they would not know what to say or how to say it.

All this fear lay behind Matthew’s account of the resurrection.

Other witnesses may see other things in the events he records, but to Matthew the facts and events drive away fear.

He saw the fear of those assigned to guard the tomb and he hears the words of reassurance to them. He saw the fear of the women who stumble through the morning mist and heard the words of comfort given to them  He saw the risen Christ meeting with his friends for the first time after the crucifixion and he heard Jesus say “Don’t be afraid.”

At any time in our lives we can be called to wrestle with fear. We can identify with world leaders who must grapple with fear on an international world stage. Life and death can be frightening, and the multitude of experiences that come in between can leave us bewildered.

But the great message of Easter and the resurrection is clear: we need not be afraid. Jesus proclaimed his resurrection in word and deed. By the end of Resurrection Day his own friends were not living in terror but rejoicing in confidence. Those formerly fearful followers now carried the proclamation of the Good News and the subsequent Church survived horrific persecution.

The message is not the message of the morgue but of the market place. Life was continuing. Business was as usual. There was now an added ingredient. Jesus was with them, now with a new authority  and presence that no one could ever take away.

Matthew saw a fearful people and wanted them to know that the resurrection was for them and would transform their lives. It is for us too. It is for world leaders as well. The way of the Resurrected Christ is tried and tested and yet we still ignore or reject its power wondering why we  still have to witness such fearful events as have afflicted the world in the last few weeks.

We still give in to our fears and fight fear with fear.

There is a way off this treadmill of destruction and death. That way is the Resurrection of Jesus, the sign of perfect love which casts out all fear.

Alan Hayday