HOW things change. At one time Easter meant an extra long weekend with lots of church services, but also an exciting soccer tournament!

Then, more serious issues took centre stage from these different perspectives:

a) Faith - the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus;

b) Community - how these three key events affect us as Christians;

c) Personal - where I find myself faith-wise.

Where do I stand today?

a) Religious: the central events of Holy Week - the passion, death and resurrection - are a measuring rod for evaluating our lives against an outside standard.

b) Community: the community aspect is key, as it ensures I learn from others even as I share my experiences with them.

c) Personal: this aspect is the most challenging, as it takes me onto a trajectory similar to that of Jesus’ disciples.

Demands on Jesus’ Disciples

Like them, we are called to leave all to walk with Jesus. Over the years he has loaded us with his grace. But we drift away from him, like the couple from Emmaus; or perhaps we hide ourselves away in the Upper Room.

Like them, we find ourselves saying: we too had hoped that he would give us all the answers to our problems. Instead, there he is hanging on a cross - dead - having achieved none of things we had hoped he would.

Fruits of the Resurrection

Then comes the realisation that Easter is a time when God is releasing his grace on us because of what Jesus has done. We realise that we cannot make it happen ourselves. What we can do is to be open to what God wants.

We are blessed with examples like Mary Magdalen, the first witness to meet Jesus; then Peter and John, followed by the Emmaus disciples; then all in the Upper Room. On each occasion, Jesus greets them: peace be with you. Why? Because he knows just how traumatised they are after witnessing his passion and death on the cross.

Secondly, he know how disturbing it is to be visited by someone who is known to be dead.

Thirdly, the unusual places where he chooses to meet them - outside the tomb; on the road; behind locked doors; with enemies all around. What is important is to let Jesus give us what we need from our encounter with him.

For some it will be the comfort of knowing that he was alive; for others it will be the awesome responsibility of telling others that he is alive. For priests, the frightening responsibility of forgiving sins; For all the demands of living our discipleship by

a) Reading and reflecting on the scriptures;

b) Applying what we’ve read to our lives;

c) Showing others how to bring Jesus into our homes, not simply meeting him in church.

We all have an Easter story to tell. Tell it honestly, simply and plainly: Death is not the end. Jesus died, but he has risen and will be with us till the end of time.

#christian-beliefs

Rediscovering Easter: the transformative power of resurrection