Happy Easter Everyone! Christ is Risen, Alleluia!

04-21-2019Weekly ReflectionFr. Chad King

The other day, I was talking to somebody about Jesus Christ and how some people don’t truly know or believe in who He really is, the Son of God. I asked if she had ever noticed why, especially in the Gospel of Mark, that many times after Jesus healed someone and after the Transfiguration, Jesus told his disciples not to tell anyone about who He is or what He did. Theologians say that Jesus knew that God the Father’s plan for what it meant to be the Messiah and Savior, was different than what the Jewish people of the time had in mind. In Mark’s Gospel especially, one cannot really know or believe in who Jesus is until after the Resurrection. God’s plan for salvation included suffering, death, and the resurrection from the dead. Therefore, what a difference the Resurrection makes, or should make in our lives.

Today, on Easter Sunday, we heard that when Mary Magdalene went to Jesus’ tomb and saw that it was empty, she ran back to the disciples. Peter and John then ran to the tomb to see for themselves, and they saw and believed. I imagine Peter and John remembered all the times Jesus healed someone and said not to tell anyone yet. They likely recalled the three times that Jesus foretold that He would be “handed over, suffer, die, and after three days rise from the dead,” even though they did not understand it then. I imagine Peter and John really understood Jesus’ words when they saw the empty tomb. Can you imagine the faith that was awakened and absolutely confirmed in the disciples when they saw the empty tomb, and again when the Resurrected Jesus appeared to them? Do you know that kind of certain faith? Do you know the truth and power of the Resurrection in your life?

On the very same day, we hear that two of Jesus followers had lost faith and were going back to Emmaus and their old way of life. Yet Jesus walked with them, asking them questions to reawaken their faith. Then Jesus presented to them all that referred to Him in the Old Testament Scriptures. Amazed and intrigued, they were discovering some profound truths found in the Jesus’ fulfillment of the Scriptures. Do you know how Jesus fulfills the Old Testament and how Moses and all the prophets foretold the coming of Jesus Christ? That is exactly what happens when we learn more about our faith. Our knowledge of who Jesus is, grows and is strengthened. However, no matter how much those two disciples were enjoying that liturgy of the word and learning about the Scriptures, they still did not realize it was Jesus. It was only after Jesus stayed with them, took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, that the eyes of faith were fully opened in these two newly re-committed disciples. They recalled how their hearts were burning within them as their faith was reawakened and renewed. Is your heart burning within you with the love God has for you? Now, after having their faith fully reinvigorated, determined not to go back to their old way of life, they go and tell others the truth of the Resurrected Jesus whom they had just profoundly encountered.

May you and I truly discover the truth and power of Jesus Christ and His Resurrection in our lives. May our faith be renewed this day. May our lives be filled with the new hope and love that the disciples experienced, and may we also come to truly know the new life that the Resurrection gives to those of us who have faith. Amen! Alleluia!