Lent has officially ended, so, in the eyes of the church, Easter is upon us. Pope Leo I called Easter festum festorum, the greatest feast, since Easter as the most joyous and most important day in the liturgical year and the entirety of human history. If Lent is a time to examine ourselves in preparation to receive Jesus, then Easter (which encompasses the entire 50 days from Easter to Pentecost) is the time to extend Jesus on this Earth.
This fulfills what Jesus commanded his apostles, and by extension us, his disciples, to do after his resurrection: “‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” When we go out to seek Jesus and spread His message, His last words to us guide us in whatever we do, all along as we remember He is with us always to the end of the age.
Why then does our age sometime preclude our actions and decisions from being true, powerful or noticeable?
I Timothy 4.12 says "Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” St Paul, as tradition holds, wrote these words almost two thousand years ago to his disciple and adopted son Timothy. Timothy had traveled and evangelized with Paul and was ready to assume independent leadership in the church, but he was still young, a greenhorn in comparison to all the others. Paul told him to set an example to other believers, not in spite of his youth, but because of it.
Timothy must have cleaved to these words when Paul was imprisoned. Nero persecuted Christians, Peter and Paul were crucified and he felt alone. He was part of the generation of church leaders who came after the apostles, and without him and his leadership, the church would have died as a first century Palestinian cult. However, because he persevered in his youth, Christianity is the world’s most prevalent religion.
Millennials are faced with similar challenges (not in regards to death and persecution) to prove themselves in their coming of age.
Millennials are described as lazy, uncouth, children with no experience and, thus, no right to lead or make decisions. It’s no news that millennials are graduating college with more student debt, going into a job market ravaged by the Great Recession of 2008 and are growing up in a society never imagined by their parents and grandparents.
Millennials are out to prove themselves and make waves in this world. Sooner or later, they will be and are beginning to be governmental officials, doctors, lawyers, parents and effective members of society. However, they will never be able to truly prove themselves on their own merits if they believe what they are told about themselves. At this Easter time, it is necessary for millennials to remember not to let anyone diminish their stature because they are young, but to be an example to the world in what they say and do, in faith, love and purity.
