T
TheOldColonel
Guest
It happened on a Sunday morning. It must have seemed to most like any other Sunday morning of that time and place. Life went on as usual. People died and babies were born. Taxes were were paid. Work had to be done, mouths had to be fed. But it was not like other Sunday mornings. For something incredible occurred. Jesus of Nazareth returned from the dead and walked among them once again!
The Gospels make clear that not all reacted the same way to this most incredible news. Upon hearing of the resurrection, some felt anxiety. Some experienced fear. Some were amazed. Some felt ashamed for not having believed his promise. Some plotted to hide this truth. Others met the news with disbelief and even anger. Many others were doubtful. A few, suspecting trickery, must have felt betrayed. Likely, some experienced a combination of these emotions. Yet, for those who had faith in Jesus, joy was the ultimate reaction.
Surely, in our own lives, we, too, can each remember first hearing this incredible news… “He is risen!” Perhaps your parents first told you. Maybe it was a your CCD teacher. Likely, some of us were told many, many times before it started to sink in. Maybe for some, we need to hear it again and again. For it still remains more of a concept than a reality, more of a dogma than a belief, more of a fact, more informative than transformative. Perhaps it remains overshadowed by other more “real” concerns about life… in the here and now… working, paying bills, surfing the Internet, etc. Indeed. That is only human.
For until one has experienced the loss of a loved one, there is often little need for deeper reflection upon the full meaning of this most profound event, upon the true meaning of Jesus of Nazareth returning from death. Yet, in the midst of profound loss often comes the need to know the truth of the resurrection more deeply, with stronger faith, in the here and now. We need it to be “real” in that moment of pain. We need to know with certainty its truth, not only for the Jesus of history, but for the one we’ve just lost… in the here and now.
Perhaps this need is part of the deeper mystery. For what happen to Jesus then is inseparable from what is happening to us now. His death and resurrection are not his alone. They are inseparable from our death and resurrection. What happen to him happens for us. His death is our death. His rising is our rising. His eternal life is our eternal life. He is the Way. He is the truth. He is the life.
Eventually, we each experience that mystery in a very real and personal way in the course of a lifetime. Events of death and loss are often marked by fear, doubt, anger, and disbelief. Yet, inasmuch as we believe his promise, inasmuch as we believe that we have been baptized into his death so that we may share in his resurrection, we may experience the same truth of that joyful Sunday morning so long ago. For what Jesus has accomplished remains as true today as it was then. That is the promise. That is our faith. “He is risen!”
The Gospels make clear that not all reacted the same way to this most incredible news. Upon hearing of the resurrection, some felt anxiety. Some experienced fear. Some were amazed. Some felt ashamed for not having believed his promise. Some plotted to hide this truth. Others met the news with disbelief and even anger. Many others were doubtful. A few, suspecting trickery, must have felt betrayed. Likely, some experienced a combination of these emotions. Yet, for those who had faith in Jesus, joy was the ultimate reaction.
Surely, in our own lives, we, too, can each remember first hearing this incredible news… “He is risen!” Perhaps your parents first told you. Maybe it was a your CCD teacher. Likely, some of us were told many, many times before it started to sink in. Maybe for some, we need to hear it again and again. For it still remains more of a concept than a reality, more of a dogma than a belief, more of a fact, more informative than transformative. Perhaps it remains overshadowed by other more “real” concerns about life… in the here and now… working, paying bills, surfing the Internet, etc. Indeed. That is only human.
For until one has experienced the loss of a loved one, there is often little need for deeper reflection upon the full meaning of this most profound event, upon the true meaning of Jesus of Nazareth returning from death. Yet, in the midst of profound loss often comes the need to know the truth of the resurrection more deeply, with stronger faith, in the here and now. We need it to be “real” in that moment of pain. We need to know with certainty its truth, not only for the Jesus of history, but for the one we’ve just lost… in the here and now.
Perhaps this need is part of the deeper mystery. For what happen to Jesus then is inseparable from what is happening to us now. His death and resurrection are not his alone. They are inseparable from our death and resurrection. What happen to him happens for us. His death is our death. His rising is our rising. His eternal life is our eternal life. He is the Way. He is the truth. He is the life.
Eventually, we each experience that mystery in a very real and personal way in the course of a lifetime. Events of death and loss are often marked by fear, doubt, anger, and disbelief. Yet, inasmuch as we believe his promise, inasmuch as we believe that we have been baptized into his death so that we may share in his resurrection, we may experience the same truth of that joyful Sunday morning so long ago. For what Jesus has accomplished remains as true today as it was then. That is the promise. That is our faith. “He is risen!”
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