Easter! Thanks be to God!

We can not imagine the surprise, or even the shock, of the first witnesses of Christ's Resurrection as they visited His tomb and found a sight similar to this one. In every cell in their bodies, every brain cell, every emotion in their hearts, Jesus was completely and utterly dead. They hadn't grasped His words of foresight. He had told them many times that he would suffer, die and then RISE from the dead. No comprendo! They started to get "it"  only when they found the tomb empty.

In fact the empty tomb is what all of the New Testament is about. The Gospel writers, St. Paul, and all of the other New Testament writers were so effected by their experience of the Risen Christ that they were inspired to write the life of Christ and the other letters, etc. because of that profoundly life changing event. The same thing with the early martyrs (and eventually every saint since then); how the Risen Christ impacted them is why they lived and gave their lives as they did. The Church and the millions of believers in the world today are a result of the impact of the Resurrection of Christ.

This gift of God that we call the Resurrection is a life altering event. Hopefully we can see that, just like Mary Magdalene, the first evangelists, the early Church martyrs and countless Christians since then, our lives and how we live them is because Christ rose from the grave. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is a current event. His Resurrection means that we live knowing that we can be forgiven for any sin. It means that every human life is redeemable and of value to God. It means that no disaster or disease can conquer us; that our God is bigger than every obstacle, mistake, and problem. It means that we can live hoping in promises of a fulfilled and eternal life to come. It means that even death can't hold us hostage.

Christ is risen indeed! Let's look at this gift from God with new eyes this weekend!

Alleluia!
Fr. Chuck