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Such an amazing revelation we celebrate every Easter Sunday!
I invite you to join with me to study and reflect more deeply on the meaning of the resurrection of Jesus during this sacred season. We will use my book, Jesus Alive in Our Lives (2nd Edition), and meet by Zoom on April 15, 22, 29; May 6 and 13 from noon to 1 p.m. CDT. For more information and registration, please visit the link below:
“Easter was when Hope in person surprised the whole world by coming forward from the future into the present.”
― N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church
(What He has revealed is what we shall be! Death is not the end. Let yourself feel the hope Christ has made credible.)
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Acts 2:14, 22-33; Ps 16:1-2a and 5, 7-11
Mt 28:8-15
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb,
fearful yet overjoyed,
and ran to announce the news to his disciples.
And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.
They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.
Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid.
Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee,
and there they will see me.”
While they were going, some of the guard went into the city
and told the chief priests all that had happened.
The chief priests assembled with the elders and took counsel;
then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,
telling them, “You are to say,
‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.’
And if this gets to the ears of the governor,
we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”
The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed.
And this story has circulated among the Jews to the present day.
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Reflection on the Scriptures
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What is the basis of our faith in the resurrection? The Scriptures tell us that "faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen"(Hebrews 11:1). Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to us. Our faith is a free assent to the whole truth which God reveals to us through his word. Faith is certain because it is based on the very word of God who cannot lie. Faith also seeks
understanding. That is why God enlightens the "eyes of our hearts" that we may know what is the hope to which he has called us (Ephesians 1:18). Peter the Apostle says we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3).
Through the gift of faith, the Lord reveals himself to those who believe in his word and he fills them with "new life in his Holy Spirit". Do you live in the joy and hope of the resurrection? And do you recognize the presence of the Risen Lord in his word, in the "breaking of the bread", and in his church, the body of Christ?
Lord Jesus, may we always live in the joy and hope of the resurrection and never lose sight of its truth for our lives.
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Covid-19 Resources at Shalom Place
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The Ascent of Mount Carmel, by St. John of the Cross
E. Allison Peers Translation. Paperback, Kindle, Audio Book.
Click here to purchase on Amazon.com
BOOK THE SECOND
Wherein is described the nature of dark night and how necessary it is to pass through it to Divine union; and in particular this book describes the dark night of sense, and desire, and the evils which these work in the soul.
Of the Ascent of Mount Carmel
Wherein is treated the proximate means of ascending to union with God, which is faith; and wherein therefore is described the second part of this night, which, as we said, belongs to the spirit, and is contained in the second stanza, which is as follows. __________________________________________________________________
Second Stanza
Chapter 20
Wherein is proved by passages from Scripture how the sayings and words of God, though always true, do not always rest upon stable causes.
1. We have now to prove the second reason why visions and words which come from God, although in themselves they are always true, are not always stable in their relation to ourselves. This is because of their causes, whereon they are founded; for God often makes statements founded upon creatures and their effects, which are changeable and liable to fail, for which reason the statements which are founded upon them are liable also to be changeable and to fail; for, when one thing depends on
another, if one fails, the other fails likewise. It is as though God should say: In a year's time I shall send upon this kingdom such or such a plague; and the cause and foundation for this warning is a certain offense which has been committed against God in that kingdom. If the offense should cease or change, the punishment might cease; yet the threat was true because it was founded upon the fault committed at the time, and, if this had continued, it would have been carried out.
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