The Post-Standard invited a number Central New York faith leaders from many spiritual traditions to offer “messages of hope during these difficult times.” Bishop DeDe Duncan-Probe was one of the contributors and her message was also quoted in the Post-Standard Editorial Board’s Easter Sunday piece, “Coronavirus subdues Easter joy but can’t extinguish it.“
Bishop Duncan-Probe wrote:
“God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God and God abides in them. … We love because he first loved us.” (I John 4:16,19)
This is a sacred time of year for the Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Our respective celebrations of deliverance, resurrection and penitence renew our sacred connection with God and with one another.
For Christians, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is good news: God’s power of creation is the source of all life and extends beyond human sinfulness and even death itself. The power of God’s love to re-create, to make all things new, is the source of our hope. It is especially comforting to know the power of God’s Holy Spirit cannot be “out-crisis-ed,” each time we love our neighbors as ourselves, each time we offer forgiveness instead of hate, each time we act in love and not fear, God abides with us.
