Easter Sunday 21.4.19 Double consolation
The Resurrection of Jesus is an actual historical event,
which had witnesses and has been recorded for all future generations. It was a
physical resurrection, not just an illusion or image. Our Lord could be seen
and touched. A ghost has no flesh and
bones as you can see I have (Lk 24,39).
It is an event that offers us consolation and hope on two levels.
1) It give us the prospect of living in happiness forever –
simply, going to Heaven.
Nobody would mind that as an outcome, even if Heaven is hard
to imagine or picture.
We should not let that worry us. Things which are bigger
than we are will always be difficult to imagine. That does not stop them from
existing.
We cannot fathom the size of the universe, for example; but
we still believe it is there! So with Heaven. We have barely started as far as our
experience of God's goodness is concerned.
We believe that the infinite Creator can produce more things
than we have seen so far, or can imagine.
The prospect of going to Heaven may not console us much at
certain times because it can seem so far off in the future. Still, it is a lot
better than Nothing, or Hell!
2) The Resurrection offers us another consolation closer to
the present. It is not only when we die that we feel better, but right now.
We hear certain things on the news, and we might think most
of it has no great bearing on our lives.
The news of the Resurrection, however, is as relevant a
piece of news as there could possibly be.
This is because Our Lord has done this for our sake as well
as His. It was not just His body coming back to life, as one person. Due to His
divine status, and His role as Second Adam, He is re-creating the human race.
If He comes to life, everyone else comes to life with Him, or at least has that
possibility.
When we pray to Him, or receive one of the sacraments, we
are drawing on His life to activate our own lives. He can, simply, make us
good.
The life of grace, that mysterious power which God can
exercise on us, moves our wills to be more in tune with His own will, seeing
things as He does.
This is what being alive comes to; we are fully in union
with the life of God.
His life is not just biological but spiritual. It transforms
us within, makes us joyful; glad to be alive, full of hope and purpose; no
longer drifting aimlessly, or living in despair.
There are many reasons why a person might not receive this
message, or apply it fully.
We can be weighed down by the negativity around us.
Our Lord is saying: Over
here, look at Me. Draw life from Me.
It is not only today that He is Risen. We choose one day to
emphasize the point, but the reality lasts all year.
On any day at any time we can claim an infusion of life from
the Risen Christ.
He will give us that infusion which will express itself as
some form of help to us – protection from evil, courage to do good, generosity
to forgive, hope for the future – whatever it may be.
Between these two consolations we have to be happy: we will
rise again at some future date to eternal happiness; but even now we rise above
sin and darkness, calling on the life of Christ.
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