He Saw and Believed

He Saw and Believed

March 31, 2013

The Resurrection of the Lord

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ

We are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.  They put him to death by hanging him on a tree.  This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.  Acts 10:39-41

When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.  Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.  For they did not yet understand the Scripture
that he had to rise from the dead.  John 20:8-9

Piety

Piety is a living faith that accepts the resurrection as a given of life.  It opens our hearts to the reality of a love that is forever.  The Resurrection is the number one of our Spiritual Journey.  We live in the knowledge that Christ came back with a Resurrected body and the same is waiting for us   It would be hard for us to realize what is waiting for us.  A body no longer subject to the laws of nature awaits us.  A body that can go through walls, yet sit at a table and eat a breakfast, is a resurrected body.   Jesus begins the revelation of the resurrection slowly.  We see the disciples looking at the empty tomb and we hear the message of angels asking why they seek the living among the dead.   The empty tomb is not enough.  They have to see Jesus to believe.  How wonderful it is that we believe without seeing him. 

Study

Peter hears the news of the women and does not believe.  He rushes to the tomb and is amazed by what has happened.  He is asking himself the question we all ask in our study of the Resurrection.  Is it   possible that he is risen? The motive for being good is strengthened by belief in Christ coming back from the dead.  The study of the resurrection events of the Scriptures pushes fear away.  How can I fear the glory that comes from dying for Christ? We have to die with him that we may rise with him.

Action

The doors are still locked because the disciples feared that what happened to Jesus would happen to them.  The question can be asked if we are fleeing the resurrection.  The resurrection is the promise that life is worthwhile.  We see signs of the resurrection in each of us.  Our hearts tell us that love is worthwhile.  Love is forever.  Love is never complete until the forever of love is realized.  Hope springs eternal.  We hope for the best from each other.  We do our best to not lock people into whom we first met in them.  Hope allows us to expect the best of each other.  The resurrection gives us the right to dream impossible dreams.  The action of the resurrection is to hope for the best in each other.  Hope is the infallible sign of the resurrection.  Hope allows us to rediscover love again and again.