Dr Jeanette Pinto –
Exactly as Jesus predicted, he was betrayed by one of his disciples. Then in a mock trial under the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, he was condemned, scourged, kicked, spat upon, brutally whipped, crucified and finally died on a wooden cross. The Resurrection narratives in the Gospels portray Jesus as raised to life on the third day in his crucified body, leaving behind him an empty tomb. This amazing event occurred over 2000 years ago, but the silence of history is deafening when it comes to the testimony against the resurrection. However today we see a new dawn is breaking showing the after effects of this testimony.
The resurrection is the clear signal that Jesus, ‘as to his divine holiness, he was shown with great power to be the Son of God by being raised from death.’(Romans 1:4) We are destined to have our struggles, suffering and death transformed into blessings joy and eternal life. With belief in the resurrection, we can face life’s difficulties with the conviction that no matter what, we will go through it all. More importantly it is the foundation of our Christian faith, without the resurrection, the belief in God’s saving grace through Jesus is destroyed.
The followers of Jesus were overwhelmed by the four All’s of the Great Commission given to them namely, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth”, that you go to “all nations”, to communicate “all the teachings”, and that He would be with them “all the time” (Matthew 28:18-20) The chosen twelve Apostles, had stoically worked, travelled to distant lands increased followers to touch millions of believers, but considering 2022 years have now passed, only a small percentage of nations had heard about Jesus. How many more centuries before this mandate is fulfilled and achieved?
Today in the third millennium we are witnessing various vehicles of evangelization impacting our world. The Covid-19 pandemic gripped the people in fear with a staggering number of deaths, catastrophic global lockdowns disorganizing societies and religious communities. Churches were shut preventing people of the privilege to worship. Without God spiritual life became cramped and difficult. The spiritual impact was felt by clergy and congregants alike. Miraculously, Church leadership and pastoral ministries were enlightened, and embraced virtual and internet technology to offer spiritual support to congregants.
A new revolution and age dawned digital technologies transformed communication by several years. Various devices like mobile phones, lap tops e-pads, computers etc. were activated to access religious content, holy books, and other spiritual texts. There were several social media Apps, sites, platforms, podcasts, blogs at the click of a button, for messages, teachings, pictures, photos, videos, and every conceivable online audio-visual.
The impact of social media on society today cannot be underestimated. It has affected relationships, community, youth, religious, political, professional, inter personal and everyday life. Religion and faith are integral to the life of people. Online users are exposed to religious content, novenas, prayers, celebration of the Eucharist, the Rosary, Lenten missions, retreats, hymns and the like.
The first ever multi-season TV show The Chosen, depicted the life of Jesus Christ, through the eyes of his chosen disciples. The writer Director Dallas Jenkins an Evangelical and the Executive Producer Derral Eves believe that “the most magnetic person that ever walked the face of the earth,” Christ, is depicted and seen as an authentic human who connects with the individual. Their main goal is not only produce the show, but to get it out to a billion people.
The episodes depict the difficulty of life in the first century showing cultural oppression, starvation, racism, bigotry, Roman oppression, and personal crises of the characters. Those working on the show hail from various faith backgrounds, there are Catholics, Presbyterians Evangelicals, Baptists, members of Church of Christ and even non- believers. The episodes model repentance, forgiveness, Jesus’ call and teachings to a radical change of life. When you encounter God, your life can change and be transformed for the better. The Chosen resonates with the believers, people are impacted by Jesus’ words and teachings, there is more opportunity now to share the gospel with others.
Global economy, is facing multiple complex and inter-connected crises like inflation, climate change, the war in Europe, fear of another pandemic; all these have coalesced into a poly crisis. Character and values are essential driving forces that help in supporting decision-making to act responsibly.
God has given us technology to be used in ways that honor him and help His kingdom grow. The advance of science is because we are creatures with powers of perception and intelligence and we live in a world of God-given regularities and order. This new revolution has enabled people to communicate the good news and message of salvation to reach the ends of the world. For 2000 years the good news was carried personally by dedicated saints, religious and missionaries to unknown lands. Presently the same is reaching the ends of the earth with the microchip a wonder of technology. Surely with the Resurrection, a new dawn is breaking.