He is Risen, Indeed!

Having now come through the Lenten season just behind us, we come to the moment of joy within the life of the Church.  We stand at the empty tomb to proclaim that Jesus lives.  Living in the entirety of the life of Jesus at every moment in our Christian faith, we knew that, even in the sadness of Lent, there was going to be a triumph, but still we can’t help but be joyful that the time of Resurrection is upon us.  We were certainly sad that our fallenness, our sins, had caused the death of our Lord, but we also know that He suffered all this for love of us, and even more so, in the Resurrection He has now offered us renewed life because of His rising to life. 

On Easter Sunday morning we hear the Gospel reading from Saint John regarding the first encounter of the disciples with the reality of the Resurrection. “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.  So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.’  Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb.  The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.  He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in.  Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb.  He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself.  Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that He must rise from the dead.” (John 20:1-9)

This Gospel reading for the day of the Resurrection, just gives us the beginnings of the encounters of the disciples with the Resurrection.  Over the seven Sundays of the Easter season, we will see many more encounters between the Risen Jesus and His followers.  But it begins with the testimony of the Apostle John, “He saw and believed.”

As we enter the Easter season and this time of joy within the Church, we remind ourselves that this is the place where we find ourselves as well.  Throughout our life of faith, we have many places and situations in which we can encounter the Risen Jesus.  Jesus is certainly present to us each and every time we find ourselves within the church, for worship and for prayer.  This is especially true when we gather for the Eucharist, where the sacramental presence of the Risen Christ is present upon our altars.  And even more so when we receive Jesus in Holy Communion. 

But these encounters also go far beyond this as well.  We encounter Jesus in the work of building the Kingdom of God on earth.  Jesus told us, “For where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there among them.” (Matthew 18:20)  We usually only think of this passage in the context of prayer and worship, but that is not what it says.  Jesus speaks these words when discussing the daily life of the Church, so while it is true for prayer and worship, it is also true for every action of the Church.  It is true for the Christian at every moment.

As members of the Church in the Easter season, we are challenged to see the Risen Christ at every moment within, not only the life of the Church gathered together, but even with us individually as His followers.  The Risen Christ is with us when we are gathered for meetings to plan our Christian fellowship and when we accomplish it.  He is with us when we gather to serve those around us in our own communities.  He is with us when we share our faith with others, be it in catechetical studies, or in telling another person about the importance of Jesus within our own lives.  He is there when we gather as a part of our organizational life as well, in the Ladies Society for the Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the Young Men’s Society of Resurrection, the National United Youth Association or the National United Choirs.  Everything that the Church does, and everything that we do as Christians, can be, should be and must be an encounter with the Risen Christ.

But in order for us to see the reality of the Risen Christ among us, we must start as well with the proclamation of the disciple that Jesus loved within the Resurrection Gospel, “he saw and believed.”  But these words are not a revelation that came without preparation. 

The Apostle John, that one whom Jesus loved, was with our Lord throughout His entire ministry.  He was called at the beginning as one of the first apostles.  He was there at the transfiguration with Peter and James.  He was there in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus prayed and finally, he was there at the Cross with Mary the mother of Jesus.  We can also imagine that there were many more points of contact and teaching that are not recorded with the Gospels as well.  And then with all of this in the background, when He came to the empty tomb John was able to say, “I saw and I believe.”  

My brothers and sisters, we find ourselves in exactly the same place at the present time.  The “one who Jesus loves” is not just the Apostle John, but it is also each and every one of us.  We certainly know that Jesus went to the Cross, because He loved us.  We too have had the opportunity to be called by Jesus to follow Him in our daily lives.  We have heard His teaching and encountered His goodness. 

So during this Easter season let us be ones that truly have faith and proclaim that Jesus lives.  And we also must remind ourselves that when we say that we “have faith,” it goes far beyond just holding it as a mental affirmation. It is so very much more.  In the context of Scripture, when we say we “have faith” it means that this is a reality that we arrange our whole lives around.  It becomes a part of every decision, every action, every moment.

So, to my brother Bishops, to the Very Rev. and Rev. Fathers, the Deacons, and all of the faithful of the Polish National Catholic Church, as well as the Nordic Catholic Church in Europe, I extend my blessings as we joyfully celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Allow your lives to proclaim a joyful “alleluia” during this Easter season.  Allow the new life that Jesus has won for us to enter into every aspect of your lives.  Allow it to inform and penetrate your worship life, your family life, your parish life, every aspect of your life.

Christ is Risen, He is Risen, Indeed.  Let us live our lives like the Apostle John who was the one who, “saw and believed.”  Let us allow the Resurrected Life of Jesus to inform every aspect of our lives in Christ.