Our Sacred Stories by Fr Jennings: Easter: Season of New Life and Rebirth for Jesus….and for Us
Our Sacred Stories
Easter: Season of New Life and Rebirth for Jesus….and for Us
“[He] suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended
Into hell; on the third day he rose from the dead.”(Apostles Creed)
It should come as no surprise that what we call the Triduum, the three days of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and then through the Easter Vigil to Easter Sunday lies at the center and core of our faith. It is the feast of all feasts for us. With it, we mark the passing of Jesus from death to new life. The words of our Apostles Creed express our faith in the whole Christian story. What we might miss is that it is also the passing of ourselves from death to new life.
The resurrection stories in the Gospel present the disciples and friends of Jesus, the crucified one seeking him at the tomb, among the dead. They do not find him there. Nor would they find him in any place that represents domination, death, violence, greed, oppression and bondage. They would find him in the places of life and light, liberation and peace. This is where the risen one is to be found.
The resurrection sends Jesus back into the world. His resurrection proclaims that there is life after death, there is hope and promise and that the power of evil, oppression and bondage is broken. The world and humanity are given new life.
Our faith tell us that like the risen Jesus, we too are sent back into the world and that we bring the risen one with us. We carry Jesus into our world of families and friends, of commerce, economics and politics. We carry him into the places of oppression, bondage and poverty, of violence and suffering and yes, even into pandemics. As Jesus, we carry the resurrection and its hope. We bring what the risen one brings – PEACE. This is the Good News. We believe in the possibility of new life for all.
The spiritual writer, Carlo Carretto in Blessed Are You Who Believed describes the presence and power of the risen Jesus that we welcome into our lives and that we bear into our world. It is lived faith for us.
When you forgive your enemy
When you feed the hungry
When you defend the weak
you believe in the resurrection.
When you have the courage to marry
When you welcome a new-born child
When you make a home together
you believe in the resurrection.
When you wake at peace in the morning
When you sing to the rising sun
When you go to work with joy
you believe in the resurrection
The risen life of Jesus takes flesh and comes alive in us. Alleluia!
John Jennings
Easter Sunday