Christ is Risen!
This post is coming a little late, but since every day of this week is in the Octave of Easter, it still fits the theme! This week, and for a whole 50 days, we celebrate the rising of Christ from the dead. Our God died for us, and now in bodily glory dwells in heaven, showing us a foretaste of the glory we will one day receive; let’s remember to rejoice!
On Easter Sunday, the first reading comes from the Book of Acts: Peter is speaking to a Gentile who is about to become a Christian. He says “They put [Jesus] to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.” Peter and other disciples didn’t see Jesus as some vanishing phantom in the night, or a vague whisper in the wind. They ate and drank with Jesus, spoke to Him, and were even able to touch His wounds. They were able to see without a doubt that Jesus had conquered death.
Though they ate and drank with him, something was very different after the Resurrection. Jesus wasn’t around in the same way anymore. While He had always gone off to pray alone, now He would only appear here and there. Jesus was more hidden now, as He prepared His disciples to reveal Him. In the second reading, from Colossians 3.1-4, Paul writes: “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” This line struck me on Sunday. If my heart is with Christ, it must be hidden, as Christ is hidden with the Father. My heart must be hidden because it is not set on something visible. I see Christ in images and symbols, but I don’t yet see Him face to face; even in the Eucharist, He appears to the eye as bread. If my “life is hidden with Christ,” I cannot be tied down to the things of the world, however good and beautiful they are. Practically speaking, I need to take time in silent prayer, remembering His presence and sitting with Him, and listening to Him. I need to soberly recognize that the things I try to find happiness in in this world will not subsist in the next.
Last of all, I need to be humble. In the Gospel (John 20:1–9), Peter and John go to the empty tomb of Jesus, but instead of recognizing His Resurrection (which He had told them about), they appear to believe that Jesus’ body has been stolen: “for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.” So too, if my life is hidden in Christ, I need to remain humble and attentive. I will not understand everything at once, and I will get things wrong. The least I can do is try to be open to Him, to learn from Him in the moment, and not to drown Him out with my loud thoughts and silly ideas.
This Easter Season, let’s dwell in our hearts with Jesus, risen from the dead. Let us rejoice in His glory, setting our hearts on the glory that is still to come.
Sean Ulrich – St. Joseph’s Seminary, Edmonton, Alberta.
Fot. Joshua Eckstein/Unsplash.com