“How happy are those who believe without seeing me.” (John 20:29)
The feast of Easter invites us to rejoice. Alleluia! Jesus Christ, our Lord and God has risen never to die again but always with us to remain. Our Saviour cannot be a dead God and death could never hold Jesus, the Author of Life from rising.
As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, the cornerstone of our Christian faith, we are reminded again that death is not the end and grave is never the place we want to end up. By dying on the Cross, Jesus destroyed sin and by rising he defeated death and gave hope to all his followers; a hope that they too will rise with Him. It is a unique hope that Christ offered to his first disciples which He continues to offer to all humanity. In Christ we long and hope for life which goes beyond the grave.
The Account of the Resurrection of Jesus is well recorded in the Bible and in the writings of the Church. For any Christian, denying Jesus’ Resurrection would mean denying one’s faith; because St. Paul tells us that if Christ did not rise from death our faith would be in vain. If we look at thelives of the first disciples of Jesus, they were terribly frightened after Jesus’ Crucifixion, and well, they even doubted the resurrection of Jesus but once they were convinced that Jesus has truly risen, they offered themselves totally at the service of the Lord. The timid Apostles were now able to stand before kings and rulers to preach about Jesus Christ and they were never again frightened of anyone or anything, not even death. They joyfully gave up their lives for Christ because they knew that they will surely rise with Him.
Down the ages, Christians had faced all types of tortures and persecutions for the sake of Jesus Christ. Did the Christians give up their lives for a useless cause? No, it was never so. A great reward is kept for them in Heaven (Matthew 5:12). Their heroic lives are an example for us. They strengthen our faith and help us to keep faith burning in our hearts.
On the other hand,we are also aware of the fake news propagated by the Jewish leaders about the resurrection of Jesus. It will be interesting to reflect on the gospel narratives about Jesus’ Resurrection as we commemorate the feast of Easter.
Is it not strange? The disciples seemed to have forgotten the words of Jesus, but the Chief Priests and Pharisees remembered clearly. They said to Pilate, “Sir while Jesus wasalive, he said, ‘I will be raised to life three days later’, so let his tomb be guarded” (Matthew 27:63&64).The tomb of Jesus was therefore sealed with Caesar’s seal and was guarded by the legionaries of Rome. They knew, they had killed Jesus by crucifying Him on the cross and was buried in the tomb and would never believe that Jesus would rise again. And yet they guarded his tomb. An armed soldier keeping their eyes on a tomb seems funny. Our great King grave was guarded by armed soldiers.
When the guards reported the resurrection of Jesus to the Jewish leaders, they were silenced by bribe. The guards chose bribe than the revealed truth, the truth that Jesus rose from death. They witnessed everything but they could never believe Jesus Christ and the fact that he rose from death.
The guards were told to say that Jesus’ disciples came during the night and stole his body while they were asleep (Matthew 28:13). Interesting! The sleeping guards would testify that Jesus body was stolen and even identify the thieves as Jesus’ disciples. We know that the disciples of Jesus at then were too frightened to do such act. Andimagine a soldier confessing that he slept while on duty when something happened. Punishments for this kind was very severe. Nevertheless, the guards decided to say so. As St. Matthew records, the fake news that Jesus’ body was stolen by the disciples is still told among the Jews to this day (Matthew 28:15). It is very saddening to recall that the greatest event for us Christians, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, was made blur to the so called, the chosen people, by the fake story invented by the Jewish leaders. Jesus’ Resurrection became a tale for the Jews.
For us Christians, we shall never waver from our faith, Christ has died; Christ is Risen; and Christ will come again. Christ who rose on the first Easter morning will continue to rise in each of us. As the women who came to the tomb of Jesus threw their fears and sorrow, ran to the Apostles to break the good news, we too have become the messengers of the Gospel. How many of us really bear witness the message of Jesus to the people we come in contact with? We should never allow others to deny Jesus because of our foolish ways of living, instead all should feel attracted to Jesus by the fact that we live faithfully and cheerfully the faith we profess. St. Augustine used to say, “We are an Easter people and ‘Alleluia!’ is our song.” People should see us joyful, loving and forgiving as we live our daily lives.
Let me conclude by quoting the words of St. Paul. “God’s message is near you, on your lips and in your heart, that is, the message of faith that we preach. If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him form death, you will be saved. For it is by our faith that we are put right with God, it is by our confession that we are saved… whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed. This includes everyone, because there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles. God is the same Lord of all and richly blesses all who call to him…everyone who calls out to the Lord for help will be saved” (Romans 10:8-13).
May the Risen Christ be with us always as we trudge the path to Heaven; and may the Peace that He gives reign in our hearts. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
