By Bishop Joseph Grech
April 2009
This month we celebrate one of the great feasts in the church’s calendar – Easter. Easter Sunday is the culmination of the week that we call “Holy” because we remember the suffering, Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Easter Sunday has been a source of hope for millions of people over the past two thousand years.
It is the feast that gives constant fresh impetus for all of us to proclaim that Jesus is the hope of every person at every age.
It marks an incredible reality that Jesus, who died on the cross, is no longer dead but he is alive – encouraging, healing and loving us at this very moment.
As I was reflecting on these realities, a question came across my mind: “But why did Jesus rise? Why make so much fuss about Easter?”
In the first letter that St Paul wrote to the Christian community of Corinth, a city that is still thriving today in Greece, he affirms: “In fact, however, Christ has been raised from the dead as the first fruits of all who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor 15:20).
What does it all mean? Those “who have fallen asleep” refers to those who have died. But what is the meaning of “first fruits”?
I am a city boy. I have lived most of my life in the hustle and bustle of city life.
However, now that I have been in the diocese for eight years, I am getting more in tune with how our people who work the land feel and think.
The farmer is very keen to see how the first fruits of the harvest would turn out.
He or she is very much aware that if the first produce of the harvest is good then the whole harvest will be good.
However, if the first fruits do not reveal the expected promise and do not produce good fruits then the farmer will be worried because it is an indication that the whole harvest will not produce the expected good results.
The first fruits give an indication of what the whole harvest is going to be like.
What happens to the first fruits will also happen with the whole harvest.
We can now understand what Paul was trying to say to the people of Corinth as well as to us.
Jesus is the first fruits.
So what happened to Jesus is going to happen to all of us.
Jesus died and therefore we are all going to die.
Yet Jesus did not remain dead. He rose again and that is precisely what is going to happen to us.
What a great faith we have been privileged to embrace.
What a great promise for all of us as followers of Jesus.
I needed a big healing regarding death.
My father died very young and his death left me with a terrible hurt and dejection.
It is true I was brought up believing in the resurrection. However, this belief was only in the head. My heart could not experience the reality.
Some twenty years ago I spent some time in Assisi. About a 20-minute walk down the hill there is the church of San Damiano.
This church is very significant both for St Francis as well as for St Clare, the founder of the Poor Clares.
It was in this church that St Francis felt that Jesus was calling him to build his church in a spiritual manner.
It was also in this place that St Clare lived with her first sisters of the order that she founded.
Close to this church there is dormitory where Clare and her sisters slept.
Today, there is a bunch of flowers where her bed used to be, and on the wall there is a brass plaque commemorating her death.
I made my way to this place and I prayed in my heart: “Lord, heal me from this fear of death. Let me experience the power of your resurrection”.
As I entered the dormitory I stopped in front of the bunch of flowers and continued to pray the same prayer.
All of a sudden I felt surrounded by something that felt like a big sponge. I was totally enveloped in peace and total comfort.
I also felt separate from all the other people who, at that time, were also visiting that place.
Then I heard a voice deep within me saying these precise words: “Joe, I have taken care of you over the past forty years and I have not done a bad job, have I? Do you think that I will leave you alone at that moment when you need me most?” I cried a lot that day.
They were tears of joy and relief as a result of meeting the resurrected Jesus.
However, Jesus rose from the dead not only to assure us of our own resurrection.
There is also another reason. I have also often asked.
“Well, yes, Jesus is alive, but what is he doing now?”
Is he quite comfortably in heaven doing His own thing or simply twirling his thumbs?
I let St Paul talk about this once again. In the letter to the Hebrews St Paul shares these words: “It follows then, that his (Jesus’s) power to save those who come to God through him is absolute, since he lives forever to intercede for them.” (Heb 7:25).
It expresses the same idea later on in the same letter: “It is not as though Christ had entered a man-made sanctuary which was merely a model of the real one; he entered heaven itself, so that he now appears in the presence of God, on our behalf. (Heb 9:24).
In plain English, what Paul is saying is that Jesus is alive today and that he is constantly praying for you and me.
Wow!
This is the reason we need to take our faith seriously and practise it.
In life there are times when things go well and we feel on top of the world.
There are also those times when we become more anxious and fearful.
Easter means that Jesus is constantly within us and protecting us.
So there is no room for panic.
We face what needs to be faced with courage and perseverance.
We do the best we can in a particular situation. We consult those who can provide authentic wisdom and care.
We also surround ourselves with good friends who will constantly support and encourage us and, most importantly, to hold steadfast knowing that our God is walking with us every single moment.
St Paul had many moments of difficulty. He suffered physical and emotional stress at times from those who were closest to him.
However, he never panicked. He kept saying: “I can do anything in Him (Jesus) who gives me strength” ( Phil 4:13).
Let us keep repeating this prayer. As believers in Jesus and in unity with our Christian community there is absolutely nothing that we cannot face and overcome.
– Happy Easter
No comments:
Post a Comment