The viral video that made us smile

You’ve probably already seen that video on WhatsApp. It’s brilliantly done. It begins in the darkness of night: a cell phone rings, someone reaches out, reads the screen, and immediately their face lights up with an inexplicable smile.

Cut to a scene. A mother walks hand-in-hand with her son in kindergarten; her phone rings, she glances at the message, and her expression is so pure it gives you goosebumps. The video repeats this sequence about ten times with different people. The reactions are overwhelming: some shout with excitement, others cry with emotion, some fall to their knees or raise their hands to the sky in a gesture of “Thank you, God!”

Anyone who sees it wonders:  What happened? Did they discover a cure for cancer? Did we win the lottery?  Finally, the camera focuses on the last screen. The text message has only one word:  “He’s risen . “

The darkest weekend in history

To understand the impact of that “text message,” we have to travel back two thousand years, to Good Friday. Let’s put ourselves in the disciples’ shoes. There was no room for doubt: Jesus was dead. They saw him bleeding profusely, suffering the spear thrust in his side, completely drowned, humiliated, and broken.

Thomas himself said it clearly: “Unless I put my finger where his wounds are and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” They were witnessing the worst spectacle in human history.

And Saturday? The great silence of God. The apostles returned to the upper room out of sheer inertia. What were they going back for? To reproach each other about who had fled and who had stayed? Imagine the pain of Peter, the leader, having to look the others in the eye and confess:  “I panicked, I denied him . “

In the midst of that chaos of weeping and guilt, there She was. Mary, the Mother, gathering them all together, sustaining the faith of a Church that seemed to have died on the cross.

A news story with no expiration date

And then, dawn broke on Sunday. The first whisper:  “He’s risen! The women saw him!” Imagine their faces of astonishment. All the pent-up pain vanished in an instant. The promises were real. Then came the disciples from Emmaus, and finally, Jesus himself, passing through the walls of the upper room to say to them,  “Peace be with you . ”

Throughout history we have received momentous news: the fall of the Roman Empire, the invention of penicillin, or the arrival of cellular technology. But all of them, absolutely all of them, end up being surpassed or losing relevance over time.

If someone’s son wins Formula 1 or the presidency of the Senate, it’s a huge joy, but… how many people actually care? A few thousand, for a few hours.

The resurrection of Christ is not a local or temporary event. It is an event for all humanity: for the 2.5 billion Catholics and Christians, and for the other 5 billion people worldwide who, even if they don’t know him, will be touched by his love for all eternity. Jesus did not rise for an exclusive club; he rose for everyone.

The resurrection is the only event in human history that no one will ever surpass. So today it’s up to us to do the same thing we would do with an amazing video on our phone:  spread the word .