As published in the Northwest Indiana Catholic on April 21, 2019
The second reading for Easter Mass is from Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, Chapter 3: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.”
We see in this reading the goal and endpoint of our spiritual pilgrimage through this earthly life: with God in Christ and the unveiling of his glory within us. Our Lenten discipline these past six weeks has been a renewed surrender to the graciousness of the Lord who has cast out from us the effects of sin, fear, anger, selfishness and death - all of those habits, attachments, attitudes, memories and emotions which hold us bound to earth.
Like Jesus, we have faced our temptations in the wilderness of the heart, we have tasted the glory of the Lord in the transfigured experience of Tabor, we have worked on the serious business of conversion and we have known the mercy of God, as offered to both the prodigal son and the woman caught in adultery. We always end up at the empty tomb on Easter morning! Alleluia!
Easter is the very heart of our faith, for in the triumphal rising of Christ from the dead we see the absolute and final reversal and undoing of everything that is wrong in the world. Life swallows up death; mercy quenches sin; love overcomes hatred; hope conquers fear and joy replaces sadness. Those first followers of the Lord were so changed by their experience of the risen Christ that they spent the rest of their lives giving witness to what they had seen and heard - the in-breaking of the vast beautiful world of the Kingdom of God! The possibility of a deep, transforming with the Lord, here and now, through the Church, the Scriptures, the sacraments, prayer and service becomes the central reality of our life.
In baptism, we die to our old selves and rise with Christ. In the Eucharist, we taste the Divine Manna which unites us with the Lord. In deep and consistent prayer, we discover that Jesus is truly alive and lives within and among us. The old order of things has been cast down - the worldly path of climbing the ladder of material success, looking out for our own interests, withholding forgiveness and mercy to those who need us, seeking a life of complacency and comfort, putting the things of this world before the reality of God.
None of these attitudes and ways of living make sense anymore to a Christian who has truly experienced the grace and power of the resurrection.
In his Letter to the Romans, Paul reminds us that the fullness of this new, risen life has not yet been fully realized in us. We groan in spirit as we await the unveiling of the glory of God. We still carry the burden of sin and the curse of death. We still inhabit a world that often seems to be moving further away from the Kingdom of God.
But yet, none of this has an ultimate hold on us. If we embrace the abundant life of the Gospel, nothing can defeat or destroy us because our lives are hidden and wrapped in Christ. Do we dare to believe in this new relationship which saves us? Do we dare to live this adventure which the Lord calls us to? We have discovered the Pearl of Great Price. Will we sell all to retain it?
St. Irenaeus reminds us that “the glory of God is man fully alive” and “God became man, so that man could become God.” God wants to place his divine holiness within us so profoundly, that we become as much like him as possible, even in this life. This process of divinization is the astonishing and beautiful result of the rising of Christ from the dead.
May you know the joy, love, peace and power of the risen Lord! May this Easter be a triumphal experience of God’s life-changing power in your heart and soul! Have a blessed and joyous Easter!
+ Donald J. Hying