Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Memorial of Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs | USCCB
In our first reading from St. Paul to the Corinthians,
Paul is addressing the central reason for our faith in Christ Jesus. Jesus
Christ not only was crucified and died on the Cross on that Good Friday 2,000
years ago, but he also rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. This is central to
who we are as Christians.
Paul goes on to say that if Christ did not rise from
the dead, our faith in Him and His resurrection is foolish. In other words,
what would be the point of being a follower of Jesus Christ if he did not rise
from the dead on the Third Day and then eventually ascend into heaven?
We all pray and know the words to the Apostles Creed.
In addition to believing in God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and
earth, and of Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord, the creed goes on to say
that he suffered under Pontius Pilot, was crucified, died and was buried. Then
on the Third day he rose again from the dead. Do we really believe these words
of the Apostles Creed when we pray them? Or are they just empty words we say,
without any meaning? Paul goes on to say in Corinthians, “…if Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching; empty, too, your faith.” (1 Corinthians 15:15) In other
words, if Christ has not been raised, we are wasting our time in coming to
church to worship God.
Further,
St. Paul is suggesting that some Corinthians assumed that there is no Life
beyond this life, that death is the end of existence. While Paul preached that
Jesus walked out of his tomb on his own two feet, it seems that some claimed
that his adopted siblings will never rise from the dead. They thought God may
(or may not) have raised Jesus’ whole person from death. But some Corinthian
could not accept Paul’s promise that God would do the same for those who love
the Lord.
Let
us not imitate the Corinthians in being uncertain in our faith in the Risen
Christ. Let us trust that Jesus did indeed not only die on the Cross for our
salvation, but rose again on the Third Day, and is now seated at God’s right
hand in heaven.
When
we doubt in the Lord’s resurrection, and our own resurrection at the end of
time, let us turn to the Him and pray
for the gift of faith to know and believe that Jesus did indeed rise from the
dead for our salvation.
From Arlene B. Muller
ReplyDeleteI believe 100% that JESUS CHRIST rose from the dead. Without that belief I would not be a Catholic Christian. His Resurrection is the source of my every hope.
Because JESUS CHRIST rose from the dead I know that He is the Incarnate Son of GOD & not some unfortunate rabbi who gave wonderful teachings, healed people. & performed miracles but somehow fell out of favor with the religious leaders & was condemned to die a horrible death, never to be heard from again.
Because JESUS CHRIST rose from the dead I know that His suffering & death was not just some horribly unjust & unfortunate tragedy but the acceptable sacrifice GOD used as the means of our salvation, the forgiveness of our sins, the reconciliation between GOD & fallen humanity & the opening of the gates of heaven that were closed temporarily (with the souls of the just temporarily assigned to Abraham's bosom) for centuries due to original sin.
Because JESUS CHRIST rose from the dead I know that when I confess my sins GOD forgives me.
Because JESUS CHRIST rose from the dead I know that my loved ones who have gone before me in faith, having loved & served GOD in their earthly lives, although their bodies. the "shell" of who they really are, currently are dead, buried & decaying, their souls/spirits are alive in heaven (even if they had to spend a hopefully short time in purgatory, if necessary, to "smooth out their rough edges") & I still share a bond of love with them unbroken by death, even though I can't see, hear or touch them.
Because JESUS CHRIST rose from the dead I believe that one day our bodies will rise from the dead, we will be given glorified bodies, and we will be reunited with our loved ones & united with our Triune GOD, Our Lady & the angels & saints (both canonized & uncanonized) to live forever in heaven (provided we have been faithful to GOD).
Because JESUS CHRIST rose from the dead I believe that GOD can take every suffering, every bad thing that happens in this life in the world & every injustice & ultimately, in His timing & not our own, hopefully while we are still living here on earth, but if not, then in heaven, turn it to good for us who love Him (Roman's 8:28). So many things that GOD allows that are wrong now & don't make sense now & that frustrate us now because they seem so unfair will be rectified & make sense in heaven.
To me Good Friday is what we have to go through in order to get to Easter Sunday. I have frequently thought of writing a book or article & call it "Can we fast forward to the Resurrection?" The bad news is that for every resurrection there is a cross. But the GOOD NEWS is that for every cross there is a RESURRECTION for our own individual crosses as well.
I confess I don't like to think about the Cross. I don't like to think of His suffering & death. I don't like suffering or thinking of suffering. I know that the Cross is the prerequisite but I would rather focus on the Resurrection, which is the light at the end of the tunnel. I love what St. Pope John Paul II said: "WE ARE AN EASTER PEOPLE & ALLELUIA IS OUR SONG."