Walking with Jesus: Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord

Acts 10:34, 37-41; Colossians 3:1-4; John 20:1-9

If someone were to ask me for the basis of our faith in Jesus, what would I say?

• Peter responded succinctly: Jesus was special, sent by God on a mission. Do I view myself as special and sent on a mission by God?
• Peter maintained that Jesus was of high caliber and did good ... exhibited in His healing of those who were shackled by sickness and disease and traumatized by life. Do I see myself as a person who responds to those in need when convenient ... and even when inconvenient?
• Peter explained that Jesus died horrendously and rose from the dead three days later.  Those in authority tried to cover this up by claiming the body was stolen … but it wasn’t. Do I have an explanation for Jesus birth, life, and death other than just that He was another special person?
• Peter emphasized that Jesus wasn’t a mythical, shadowy person or a ghost: He was real and totally special. Do I see Jesus as totally better, greater or otherwise different from what is usual?
• Peter in the first reading, Paul in the second and John in the gospel describe Jesus at the same time they were still trying to comprehend this person of God. Do I realize who God is for me? What Jesus’ life, teaching and actions mean in relationship to my daily living? Is there a message and life-meaning that is bigger than “I was born, lived and died?”

What is the bottom line of my faith? I cannot keep Jesus locked safely away in my brain. He is part of my psyche, my soul, self and mind, just like every other person. As a result I can’t explain Jesus away by saying He has no relationship to my life. Christian faith is actually rooted in an encounter with this Christ, this Messiah who showed us that God’s love is the reason for my life, the created world and all of life’s true meaning. I cannot escape or deny this encounter. It is the foundation of all living, showing us that God’s love has no boundaries or partiality. God’s love is my meaning. God’s love is the meaning for all life. Let's look at today's readings.

In Caesarea there is a Roman centurion a gentile named Cornelius who is described as “… devout and God-fearing along with his whole household, who used to give alms generously to the Jewish people and pray to God constantly.” [Acts 10:2] Even to a casual historian, Cornelius must have been an unusual Roman soldier. Peter has a vision that Jesus’ work “doing good and healing” is to be extended far beyond the borders of Israel to all people. Jesus’ work was not meant in any way, shape or manner to end with His death. It would make no sense for God, who is love itself, to not want all people to be aware and persuaded of the need to show this love and to live it. Cornelius comes to Peter and invites him to speak more to his household about Jesus. They have already heard reports, starting with John the Baptist’s baptizing in the Jordan, of Jesus’ good works and healing of those bound by the prince of this world. Peter explains how Jesus rose from the dead and that He is the divine judge in whose name forgiveness is available for all who believe. God has intervened: Cornelius, his household and family now receive both Baptism and the Holy Spirit. All people are called to believe in Jesus as God’s Messiah. God loves all, forgives all and leads them to Himself and heaven. Do I feel I am also called as every person is? Or do I want to make this call of God to only a select few?

Paul states emphatically that we are to live in the Lord, to look beyond Earth and seek what God needs and wants from each of us. Are there ways our perspective has been broken or hidden this past year? What has come to take its place? We are to be His instruments. Are we? Am I?

Jesus’ followers tell two different kinds of stories about their faith and His resurrection: The first is about Jesus’ appearances to so many disciples after His resurrection; the second is about the tomb being empty. This is important. The tomb is empty because Jesus has been raised from the tomb. His body has not been stolen. Our Easter rituals and celebrations declare that Jesus has risen. The presence of Christ is alive and active in the world. It must also be active in each of us. God’s relationship is with each person. It is our responsibility to show that the love, compassion, caring, forgiveness and generosity shown by Jesus can overcome the hatred, greed, abuse, evil and all sorts of hurting suffered by God’s people. The point of the resurrection is that all life has meaning: Death is not the end. Jesus’ death shows us that life exists in relationship with God’s unconditional love. This love is not isolated, it is for all. It is to be treasured and shared; otherwise it is meaningless. Do I consider myself to be God’s instrument for love? God does, why can’t I? What’s missing?

So I reflect on:

• Where do I find myself today: puzzled at the tomb site? Abandoning hope? Or preparing to take on my mission of being Jesus in my world?
• Am I living in the hope that the apostles and disciples took on hopeless jobs of living and being Jesus? Or do I want someone else to be kind, compassionate, caring, forgiving?
• Do we really understand that, every minute of our lives, we are loved by God who demonstrated it through Jesus’ life and resurrection?
  

Sacred Space 2021 states:

“As described by Benedict XVI, the resurrection was like an explosion of light, a cosmic event linking heaven and Earth. Above all, it was an explosion of love. It ushered in a new dimension of being, through which a new world emerges. It is a leap in the history of evolution and of life in general toward a new future life, toward a new world which, starting from Christ, already continuously permeates this world of ours, transforms it, and draws it to itself. The resurrection unites us with God and others. If we live in this way, we will transform the world.”