Christ is risen! Hallelujah! These words reverberated as Christians around the world joyfully celebrated last Sunday Jesus Christ’s resurrection. Christian faith teaches that Christ suffered, was crucified, died and on the third day he rose again from the dead. The resurrection of Christ is an intrinsic tenet and the foundation of the Catholic faith. However His conquest of sin and death may be seen in different ways.
By his resurrection, Christ conquered death and forever established his kingship over all creation. He has proven that he is an all-powerful God that even death itself has no power over him, a God who has no beginning and no end, the alpha and omega. Christ’s resurrection also means that the Christian God is a living God; one who was, is and will be part of human history from the beginning until the end. An ever-faithful God, Christ by his resurrection shows that he abides by his church for all time. Jesus himself promised this when he said to his disciples before he ascended into heaven: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. This means that God is and will be forever present in the life of every Christian and his church.
Although God no longer manifests himself as in the days of Abraham, Moses and the Patriarchs of the Old Testament, still his hand is seen and will be present in all events of our history, showing himself in all creation, from the greatest to the minutest. The true follower of Christ therefore sees that every event in his life does not happen by chance but is willed by Him; hence, he (follower) will not be overcome by despair and hopelessness for to him God is always present, ready to come to his succor. This was the point of the nine readings during the Easter Vigil mass, when we recalled salvation history from the story of creation to the resurrection of Jesus.
It is unfortunate that sometimes people, even those who profess to be Christians, act without taking into account the will of God and his presence in their lives. It is in these instances of sin that we consciously and deliberately separate ourselves from Him resulting in all sorts of trouble for mankind. Concededly, modern society is suffused with hatred, violence, greed, selfishness and lack of charity. Our beloved country has not spared from all of these.
The faithful must accomplish the power of the Resurrection in every age, in our concrete existence, in our everyday lives. How many deserts, even today, do human beings need to cross! Above all, Pope Francis once said, “the desert within, when we have no love for God or neighbor, when we fail to realize that we are guardians of all that the Creator has given us and continues to give us.” But in the end, God’s mercy can make even the driest land become a garden, can restore life to dry bones.
The great apostle, Peter, “praises God for he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” He links Christ’s resurrection gives hope for it opened the doors to heaven. By Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection we have become heirs of God’s kingdom. It is an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and most of all everlasting. A Christian therefore sees hope where there is none. Even in the midst of suffering and difficulties such as persecution, hunger, nakedness—tthere is still reason to rejoice because God’s love has already conquered death; that in the end of this earthly life the Christian will be allowed to reclaim his just reward, that is, everlasting life. In this sense, Christianity is a joyful religion, full of hope and expectation. For a Christian adversity is not a useless experience contrived by God to punish him; instead it is God’s way of leading him towards salvation.
Christ’s resurrection is transformative. Pope Francis, in one of his Easter homilies, explained how belief and acceptance in Christ’s resurrection can change the life of a person, events and conditions. He said: “So this is the invitation which I address to everyone: Let us accept the grace of Christ’s Resurrection! Let us be renewed by God’s mercy, let us be loved by Jesus, let us enable the power of his love to transform our lives too; and let us become agents of this mercy, channels through which God can water the earth, protect all creation and make justice and peace flourish.” Indeed, belief in the message of the resurrection can change lives for the better.
Christ’s rising from the dead may be an ancient mystery but its religious and societal significance remains strong even to this day. Given the state of present-day society, there is every reason for us to acknowledge and practice the message of Christ’s resurrection to transform despair and meaninglessness of existence into one that is peaceful, loving and just knowing that there is a loving, merciful and faithful God who never abandons.
According to Pope Francis, “God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy.” Cardinal Chito Tagle, whose homilies last week I listened to with interest and spiritual desire, echoed this during the Easter vigil mass when he pointed to God as rolling away those “big stones” in our life which prevent us from seeing God and to be truly happy. “If a person finds it hard to “roll away” these big stones, or if he or she wonders who can roll it down,” Tagle said God “will roll the stone not to hurt us, but to let the life of Christ come out and be our life.” “Jesus is coming out of the tomb. Do not block his way. Go, meet him,” added Tagle. “He is our life, He is our light. Do not be afraid. He is the rock of our salvation, and we do not need other rocks to block His coming.” (Quotations above are from the Rappler story on Tagle’s Easter homily.)
In the next six weeks, the Sunday gospels will be all about resurrection stories. The walk to Emmaus, the doubt of Thomas, the miracle of the fishes in the lake of Galilee, the confirmation of Peter as rock of the Church, and the ascension. All of them tell one story: Christ is risen; He is truly risen. Thanks be to God.
Happy Easter everyone!
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