Easter 2013
He is Risen
The
resurrection of Jesus Christ is the pivotal event in human history.
Before the
resurrection everyone died. And, those who died ceased to exist in any
meaningful way. Before the resurrection no human being who died entered into heaven. There was no model in any of the ancient
religions for the ascent of a soul into the realms of light.
Then Jesus
came. Jesus unified in himself our humanity with God’s divinity. Jesus overcame
the choice our species made to separate from God at the moment of his
conception. He chose to unify humanity with divinity.
He chose to
accept an unjust death on the cross in order to trap death in his own body. He
stood in the place of separation with us. He took our sins into his ineffable
holiness. He absorbed the fear, anger, hate, pride, despair and the will to
power of humanity and by his infinite and eternal love transformed it all back
into its original virtue.
He
experienced the consequence of our choice to separate from God. He felt the
depths of the Desolation of Abomination which our species summoned in pride and
fears in despair. He met the void of non-existence head on and filled that void
with light, and life and love.
As he
experienced death he descended into the realm of the dead. He preached to the
departed spirits of the dead. He offered them all reunification with the Father
in Himself. Those who received this offer he set free from the land of the dead
and brought into the land of the angels, heaven. This is not our final home.
This is just the place where we can, if we choose, prepare to enter into the
New Earth God will create for us.
Salvation is
life because Jesus has swallowed up death and transformed it back into life by
the Real Presence of his own eternal life.
Salvation is
love because God is love. The One God eternally expresses Himself in the active
dynamic creative and spontaneous inter relationship of the One who loves (the
Father), the Beloved (the Son) and the very power of love himself (the Holy
Spirit.)
In the
resurrection Jesus represents to us the meaning and purpose of Creation. That
meaning and purpose is love- infinite- eternal- active- dynamic- creative and
so much more.
The
resurrection is God’s assurance to humanity that death is not the final state
for human beings. We can make a different choice. We can receive the gift of
eternal life here and now. We can experience that gift here and now.
In the
blessed sacrament of Holy Communion Jesus offers us himself. As he offers us
himself he offers us light and light and love to live and move and have our
being in joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self-control. Holy
Communion is the Pascal Sacrifice of the Easter promise fulfilled and
re-presented to us without fail on the seventh day of Real Presence.
Easter is
the proclamation of the co-eternal Word of God that you, whoever your are- are
loved with an everlasting love. Receive the gift. Live the gift. Share the
gift.
The gift of
God is the Great Mystery of Faith: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ
will come again.