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Be Not Afraid ResurrectionTo the extent that our paths must trace Christ’s, thefear of death is not only understandable, but natural.He himself cried out in anguish, “My father, why haveyou forsaken me?” and begged him, “Let this cup passme by.” When I first heard the story of the crucifixionfrom my father, I could not stomach its cruelty, andeverything in me rebelled. Why couldn’t there beEaster without the horrors of Good Friday?Over the years, however, I found an answer that Icould accept: just as there can be no spring without thecold of winter that comes before it – just as the glory ofa sunrise would be nothing if it did not break throughthe darkness of night – so the pain of suffering mustprecede the triumph of new life. In finding this faith, Igradually overcame my fear of dying.Those who do not believe in a life beyond the gravesometimes dismiss the idea out of hand, and givenour inability to describe the future, except in termsof vague hopes, this is understandable. But to a dyingperson who does have faith in resurrection, it is notjust an abstraction. It is a source of courage andstrength so real that it can even alter him physically.Sometimes it is a matter of something as simple asa smile; sometimes there is an unexpected burst ofenergy or the sudden return of mobility and speech.18