Easter Sunday
Risen Christ, this is the central message of the Easter liturgy. First of all, the risen Jesus Christ, as an object of faith, before the evidence of the empty tomb: “he saw and believed” (Gospel). Risen Christ, object of proclamation and testimony before the people: “He, whom they killed by hanging him on a tree, God raised on the third day” (first reading). Risen Christ, object of transformation, new yeast and unleavened of sincerity and truth: “Be new dough, like Paschal loaves that you are, since Christ, who is our Paschal lamb, has already been sacrificed” (second reading).
Doctrinal message for Easter Sunday
1. Risen Christ, object of faith. The tomb, even if it is empty, does not prove that Christ has risen. Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and came to the following conclusion: “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they have put him.” Peter entered the tomb and found that “the linen bandages and the cloth that had been placed on his head were there.” Neither Mary nor Peter believed, seeing the empty tomb, that Jesus Christ had risen. Only John “saw and believed”, because the empty tomb led him to understand the Scripture, according to which Jesus had to rise from the dead (Gospel). “This supposes, catechism 640 teaches us, that it was found in the state of the empty tomb that the absence of the body of Jesus could not have been a human work.” The knowledge that, until then, John had of the Scripture was notional, therefore it only affected his ideas; now, as you enter the empty tomb, see the bandages and the shroud, the knowledge of Scripture becomes experiential and vital. The risen Christ has not yet appeared to him, but he has already “seen” him, because the Word of God is true; the appearances of Christ to the disciples will only confirm faith in the resurrection.
2. Risen Christ, object of proclamation. When man lives a profound experience, he cannot silence it, even though he is aware that his words will never be able to express the intensity, vividness and fullness of the experience. The experience of the risen Christ was so marked in the soul of the apostles and disciples that they necessarily had to speak about it to those who had not had it. Well, not only talk about it, but also bear witness to it, that is, proclaim the truth about it, even, if necessary, with suffering and with life. Shutting up that experience would have been a sign of unforgivable selfishness. For this reason, Christians, during the first years, and as the first announcement, were monothematic. All they said was that “Christ was killed by the Jews, but God raised him from the dead.” Everything else revolves around this great message. They do not proclaim ideas, no matter how beautiful they may be, but rather events experienced in the first person. This experience of the risen Christ was not temporary, but became incorporated, so to speak, into his very existence in this world, and for this reason, they never ceased to proclaim with their lips and with their lives the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
3. Risen Christ, object of transformation. There is a very close relationship between the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the transformation of man. Christ, perfect man, is the first transformed by being resurrected by God, becoming a man totally penetrated by the Spirit. Saint Paul speaks to us of the ethical transformation that the experience of the risen Christ entails, a transformation that touches the very roots of man: sincerity and truth. In turn, the man transformed by the Risen Christ is capable of transforming others, as yeast is capable of fermenting the whole mass. This ethical and missionary transformation is based on the interior transformation, brought about by the Spirit of Christ, which makes everyone who has experienced the Risen Christ an entirely spiritual man, imbued with the Spirit.
Pastoral Suggestions for Easter Sunday
1. Experience the risen Christ. The experience is done or not done, you have it or you don’t have it. You cannot send a representative to do the experience for you. Christianity is a faith, but permeated by a vital experience, so that the faith does not decay. The living experience of the risen Christ can be made by any Christian. Since it is a gift that God grants, the first thing to do is ask for it. What better day than Easter Sunday to ask the Lord for the grace of this experience! The Christian can prepare to receive the gift of this experience, through the development of a growing spiritual sensitivity. In contact with God, man begins to like God and the things of God, he acquires a greater capacity for listening and docility to the Spirit, becoming more in tune with the faith of the Church. This constitutes the cultivated land so that in it the experience of the risen Christ can be born and flourish. All of us without exception are called to make this experience. Let us not think that it is only for a few mystics, who have a certain propensity for these states of the soul. It is important for every Christian to do it, because whoever did it, he will not be able to continue living in the same way, even if he already led a good Christian life. This vivid and intense experience touches and changes the mentality, the customs, the lifestyle, the way of relating to others, the criteria of action, the works themselves, even the character itself. If you have already had this experience of the risen Christ, I think you will agree with me that all good things come with it. If you haven’t done it yet, ask the Lord to grant you to do it as soon as possible. May it be the gift that God grants you this Easter!
2. The resurrection of Jesus Christ and Christian ethics. Is there a Christian ethic? Let’s say, at least, that there is a Christian way of living ethics. Above all, there is a foundation of Christian ethics, which is the person of Jesus Christ, mainly the mystery of his resurrection. An ethic that is not founded on the person and message of Jesus Christ cannot be called Christian. And when I speak of Christian ethics, I am not referring neither only nor mainly to ethics professors in universities, institutes or seminaries, but to Christian behavior in their work, before the media, in the sphere of family, before taxes, before religious pluralism, etc. The risen Christ has made us sharers in his divine life through baptism and sanctifying grace, and he wishes to continue repeating in us his exemplary presence in history. Let us live the experience of the risen Christ, and be sure to always live an ethical behavior worthy of man. Then really the resurrection of Jesus Christ will be the center of our life and our faith.
Author: Fr. Antonio Izquierdo
If you liked this text about Easter Sunday, please share it on social networks by pressing the following buttons:
Javier’s Catholic Web Index
catholic reflections
Sign in the guest book
Subscribe for free to Javier’s Catholic Web mailing list to receive weekly updates by email.