Easter's journey moves from dark to eternal light

Growing up, like most kids, I thought that Christmas was the greatest Christian feast.

Certainly, I looked forward with much more anticipation and enthusiasm to the joy of waking up on Christmas morning to find a bike, baseball glove or game under the tree than I did to an Easter basket, an Easter egg hunt or even a new suit for the Easter parade.

It wasn't until somewhat later in life that I began to understand that Easter is the greatest day in the Christian calendar. For nothing else in Christ's life makes sense without the wonder and awe of the Resurrection.

Pivotal event

Jesus' miraculous birth; the preaching, teaching and witness of His public ministry; and the suffering and death of Holy Week all receive their meaning from the Resurrection.

As Paul proclaims, "If Christ has not risen from the dead, your faith is in vain" (1 Co 15:14). Indeed, the Resurrection of Jesus is not only the centerpiece of our faith; it is the pivotal event in human history.

By His Resurrection, Christ fulfilled the promises He made during His earthly sojourn. He burst the bonds of death; He conquered the power of sin and evil in the world; He restored fallen humanity to its previous state of being destined for eternity of life with God; and He bequeathed us the gift of the Holy Spirit, which enables us to live a supernatural life in the midst of the natural world in which we find ourselves.

Empty tomb

As with myself, it sometimes takes a while to wake up on Easter morning, go to Mass, hear the Gospel and realize the full implication of what happened on that first Easter morning.

In fact, it took people directly involved some time for the message and the reality to set in.

I would note, for example, that the initial discovery of the empty tomb was not an immediate cause for rejoicing, but an occasion for being traumatized.

Dark day

Mary Magdalene came to the tomb "in the dark," both literally and spiritually. Initially, she was thunderstruck and misunderstood the significance of what she saw.

She ran to the Apostles to announce what she had discovered: "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they put Him."

In light of this amazing news, what happens? Nine of the apostles seemed to have shrugged their shoulders. Only Peter and John went to the tomb, at least to take a look at the stone rolled away and the burial cloth folded neatly.

Peter, however, did no more than physically see. John, the beloved disciple, managed more insight: He saw and believed. But, after they returned home, he and the others still failed to grasp the full meaning of these events. They needed time to grow in their understanding:

* Mary Magdalene will have another encounter with Jesus, which will challenge her to move beyond tears to faith;

* Two of Jesus' disciples will recognize Him at Emmaus in the breaking of the bread and begin to comprehend that, in the Risen Jesus, the Scriptures were fulfilled as He promised;

* "Doubting" Thomas will place his hands in the nail marks of Jesus' glorified body and proclaim, "My Lord and my God";

* The Apostles will meet the Risen Christ in the upper room, and find the courage to let go their fears and go forth to proclaim the Good News to the ends of the earth.

Slow realization

In other words, it took weeks before the Apostles, disciples and friends of Jesus began to understand the full meaning of the Resurrection.

If those who witnessed Jesus in the flesh had a difficult time getting their minds around the Resurrection and its implications, we should not be discouraged if at times we do not always appreciate the import or magnitude of Christ's Resurrection for our own lives.

But, just like the Apostles and Mary Magdalene, our lives can move out of darkness into light if we allow the Easter message to dawn upon us.

Suffering

Let me cite three areas where this can happen.

The first is in understanding the perennial reality of human suffering. To this day, no one can fully comprehend why God allows suffering in the world. Despite tomes which have been written on the topic by eminent philosophers and theologians, human suffering still remains a mystery.

How do we explain the deformity of a newborn child...the hit-and-run accident that kills a bright college student walking from the library to the dorm...the terminal illness of the mother of three in the prime of her life...the hopelessness of the 65-year-old who learns that his retirement benefits have been wiped out by corporate greed and corruption...the violence of war...or the senselessness of random terrorism?

On a human level, we can't explain those harsh realities. But, in Christ's death unto Resurrection, we see that in God's plan of life there is a cycle of birth, death and new life, a cycle that reveals that our suffering here on earth is truly redemptive, that the defeat and failure in life are only temporary, and that death itself is but an illusion. Even if all else is blotted out, our Christian values will prevail, and we will survive and rise together with Jesus.

Death's meaning

Secondly, understanding the Resurrection cycle also helps us to cope with the dreaded reality of death.

There is nothing more feared in our contemporary society than death. We are living in a death-denying culture. We do everything we can to shield ourselves from its existence: from the emphasis we place on youth culture to the hope we put in the marvels of modern medicine and medical technology...to the fanaticism of physical exercise with its promise to prolong life and stave off death...to the refusal to discuss the subject, even by physicians with terminally ill patients...to the cosmetic makeup and embalming fluid of the undertaker.

It is true that death is an absurdity. Having experienced the passing away of parents, cherished brother priests and close friends, having attended countless wake services, and having presided at liturgies for hundreds of deceased people, I can attest firsthand to the cruel sting of death -- and to the hurt, loss and pain sustained by those who mourn the passing of a loved one.

Not the end

But, as the Easter feast proclaims and promises, death is not the end of life, nor the end of human existence.

Rather, it is a transition between life here on earth -- where we first learned of our eternal destiny and where, through our love and service, we prepare to meet our Maker -- and life in heaven, which Jesus has won for us by His sacrificial death on the cross of Calvary and the triumph of His Resurrection.

As Pope John Paul II stated shortly before his own death, "Death is like moving from one room to another," where life is not ended but merely changed from a temporal earthly existence to an eternal heavenly one.

Dying and rising

I realize, however, that this central truth of our Christian faith concerning the Resurrection is one which many today find difficult to believe.

A recent poll of Americans reveals that, while 90 percent stated they believe in God, only 63 percent believe that Jesus Himself physically rose from the dead. More startling still, only 35 percent expressed belief that their physical body will be resurrected one day.

This is truly disappointing because there is an intimate connection between the death and Resurrection of Jesus and our own.

Each Sunday, at the end of the Creed, we say, "We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come." In making that profession of faith and in our Easter observance, we affirm our belief not only in the Resurrection of Jesus but also in our own eventual resurrection.

Sometimes, in this scientific and materialistic world in which we find ourselves, it takes an effort and, of course, always a leap of faith to dispel the shadow of death and to glimpse the buds of new life that it offers, including our own resurrection.

But to do so is to begin claiming here and now the full meaning of Christ's glorious Resurrection.

Christ among us

That leads to my third and final point: We do not have to wait to the next life to be sharers in Christ's risen life because, through the power of the His Resurrection, Christ is already living in us and among us.

Before the Resurrection, Jesus was limited by space and time. By that, I mean He was limited to be in one place at one time. His humanity had the same limitations all human beings have.

But, once the Resurrection happened, Jesus became capable of being present to us in a variety of ways:

* He is present in the Scriptures;

* He is present in the Church, through which he continues to baptize, forgive sins, heal and strengthen the sick, and renew His redemptive sacrifice in the Eucharist, which is shared with us for nourishment on the journey;

* He is present to us in our personal prayer, for we pray not to a distant God, living in some far-off galaxy, but to a God Jesus told us to call "Abba" -- "Daddy" -- at whose right hand He sits interceding on our behalf;

* He is also present to us in other persons. We speak of ourselves as brothers and sisters in Jesus. That is not just a metaphor, allegorical speech or religious poetry. Jesus is really present in those whom we encounter, especially the poor, neglected, forgotten and powerless.

Truly, every person has been bought at a great price; every person has been redeemed by Christ's love; and every person has the potential to reveal to us the love and life-giving power of the Risen Lord Jesus.

Christ and us

Most importantly, at Easter, we should remember that the Risen Christ is present in us.

We are never alone, for in Jesus we have a companion and friend who will never abandon us or leave us. Even when nothing in our lives seems to be going the way we want, the presence of the Risen Christ is there to uplift us, to inspire us, to console us, to calm our fears, to heal our wounds, to intensify our joys and to enable us to live as an Easter people. 

May we grasp these truths of Christ's Resurrection, and may the peace, joy and love of the Risen Jesus be with you every day of your life.

(4/5/07) [[In-content Ad]]