Readings: Acts 10:34,37-43; Col. 3:1-4 or 1 Cor 5:6-8; John 20:1-9Today we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Many people today have a problem coming to terms with the idea of the resurrection. They would want to understand what really happened. Did Jesus resurrect in the spirit or the body? Was the tomb really empty?
These are interesting questions in that they aim to satisfy the curiosity of the human mind faced with so great a mystery as the resurrection. But the really important question is not how did Jesus experience the resurrection in Jerusalem 2000 years ago but how do I experience the resurrection here and now. As Paul says in Philippians 3:10, “What really matters is to know Christ and experience the power of his resurrection in our lives.” Why should we celebrate the resurrection today if Jesus does not resurrect in our own lives? Why should we rejoice that Jesus has resurrected for the whole world if we do not have a share in it?
You see, in baptism Jesus comes to live in us, to dwell in us. By sin Jesus is crucified and buried in our souls as in a grave. Jesus remains dormant, inactive and virtually dead in the life of the sinner. But by renewing our baptismal commitments, by rejecting sin and rededicating ourselves once again to God, Jesus comes to life once again in us. Jesus resurrects in our lives. How do you know when the Lord Jesus is alive and active in your life? Here are some of the indications:
Jesus becomes the number one person in your life. Jesus never takes second place. No matter how strong your commitment to any person on earth, your commitment to Jesus still comes before that. You cannot please your wife or husband and displease Jesus. You cannot please your best friend and displease Jesus. Even the commandment “Honor your father and mother” holds – insofar as that does not go against the will of God as made known to us in the life and teachings of Jesus. Now you begin to love to be in the presence of Jesus, you make time in your busy daily schedule to be with him and talk things over with him, which we call prayer. Going to church on Sunday will no longer be seen as an inconvenience because you know it's like going to a friend's party.
You will no longer be content with being in the “secret service” like the young man who was coming out of church on Easter day, and the pastor was standing at the door shaking hands with the mass goers as usual. The pastor grabbed the young man by the hand and pulled him aside and said to him, “Young man, you need to join the Army of the Lord!” The young man answered, “But Pastor, I'm already in the Army of the Lord.” “Then how come I don't see you except at Christmas and Easter?” asked the pastor. And the young man whispered back, “I'm in the secret service.”
Jesus becomes your master that comes before all other masters in your business, professional and social life. In a society where success in personal and professional life is measured primarily in monetary terms it is easy to compromise with the Lord's directives and commandments in order to maximize profits. But if Jesus is alive in us we shall insist on following the Lord's will even in our pursuit of professional excellence and business success.
You are no longer afraid – of hardship, pain and suffering, and even of death – because you know that the sufferings of this world are passing things. Like the sufferings of Jesus they only last for three days and then comes the joy of the resurrection that will last for ever.
Many of us today cannot stand up and speak out for truth and justice because we are afraid of the possible suffering this might bring us to. But if Jesus is alive in us we are prepared to suffer with him as apostles of truth and justice because we know we will also rise with him.
The resurrection of Jesus assures us that truth will always have the final victory. The world may crucify the truth and bury it in the grave but on the third day it will rise again. Jesus alive in us removes from our hearts the fear that cripples us and gives us instead the faith and hope that empower us to stand up for kingdom values in our families, communities and in the society at large. In spite of whatever contradictions we meet Jesus alive in us gives us peace of mind and body, a peace that the world and everything in it cannot give.
My Easter prayer for each of you risen Christians: Live every hour … every hour. Live it “to God in Christ Jesus.” God bless you and Happy Easter!
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