Jesus is laid in the Tomb

 Here in Haiti, we know only too well what it means “to lay Jesus in the tomb”, because we often find ourselves face to face with death.

When the stone is rolled across the Lord’s tomb, we feel that life is over, that hope has come to an end with Him.  Yes, our daily life has many endings, many tombs.

Not only the many lives that are lost to the ever-increasing violence in our country; nor those who die due to lack of access to basic health care; nor the children whose voices are never heard because there is nothing to put in their mouths to sustain them…

Our hope is also quenched in the face of political infighting and power struggles that cast the people aside and render our word and our vote worthless.

We sense the stone blocking our way when we look to the sky and see no signs of rain approaching.  We are left helpless as the crops that nourish and keep us throughout the year, wither and fail.

We die every time a girl leaves school to go to work; and we are already dead in all those people who have never had the opportunity to go to school, and who cannot read or write.

Each day we experience our many hopes and dreams laid in the tomb sealed with a stone, just as Jesus was.