Good Wins

Happy Easter, friends and neighbors.

I know scrolling through social media or watching the news can make it hard to find peace or happiness. I get it. Some days, even a holiday like Easter can feel strange or painful — especially when we see faith being used to divide people or protect the powerful.

But let me remind you what Easter has always meant at its heart, regardless of your faith:

Good wins. Hope wins. Community wins. Even when things look dark. Even when the powerful seem unstoppable.

Jesus lived in a hard time, too. The empire of a distant city ruled his land. The rich and powerful took most of what working people made. The poor, the sick, and the outcast were pushed aside.

Jesus didn’t call for war to throw the Romans out. He envisioned something different, and far more powerful.

He told people to share what they had. To take care of prisoners, foreigners, the sick, the poor, and the orphaned — and to see them as family. He said that chasing luxury and hoarding more than you need was foolish when you could instead have community that would provide. He told the rich that if they wanted to follow him, they needed to give their stored up wealth to those who were suffering and live in community with the people.

He taught that when we combine our efforts and stand together with the left-out and the cast-down, we become strong in a way no empire can crush. Not strong like a bully. Strong like a team. Strong like a family. A people.

That’s the real Easter message: Community, unity, and compassion — what Jesus called the spirit of God's law — cannot be defeated by death and will not stay buried.

So this Sunday — whether you celebrate Easter or if it's just another day — I hope you will reach out to your loved ones, your neighbors, and your coworkers. Let them know you have their back. Ask how you can help.

Together, our hands build this world. That is a power we can give to leaders who serve us — and take away from anyone who tries to rule us like tyrants.

Have a peaceful and blessed Easter. Let’s build something better — together.