Christ is alive and He is with us

Nobody saw Jesus come out of the tomb. Most of the disciples were not there to witness his death on the cross either. But all his disciples had a strong and very compelling experience of the resurrected Christ with them from the third day of his death. Even the ones who, out of their human weakness, deserted Jesus at the hour of need were not denied the vision and experience of the resurrected Christ. Therefore, my joy and faith is also not unfounded. Though I have not witnessed Jesus come out of a tomb, the experience of the resurrected Christ with me is the strong foundation of my life based on trusting faith.

In Holy Week we meditated on the bodily destruction of Jesus. With the pain of this loss, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb of Jesus only to find it empty. Losing even the dead body of Jesus was too much for her. She wept. Such was her love for Jesus. But soon she realised that Jesus is not lost. He is risen. Now the risen Christ called her by name. It is this personal and loving encounter that brought Mary Magdalene to full faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. With the joy of finding Jesus alive again, she rushed to the other disciples and told them the good news. This Mary Magdalene is a model for you and me in our faith life.

Just as it happened to Mary, it our personal encounter with Christ that will gift us with the faith in the Risen Lord. However, educated we are in religious matters, until we have a personal encounter with Christ, our faith will not be complete. We will be like the disciples who went into the tomb before Mary. They, in spite of seeing the empty tomb, were not gifted with faith. They even saw the clothe that wrapped the body of Jesus left behind by risen Christ. But they did not have the personal encounter with Christ and they lacked faith. They had to wait for Mary who encountered the risen Christ to be brought to the consolation of faith in the resurrected Christ.

Mary Magdalene heard Jesus calling her by name. Reading and meditating on God’s Word, you too can hear God calling you by name. Like Mary you could also encounter Jesus Christ personally by coming into a union with Christ’s Body through the Eucharist. In the Eucharist, we encounter risen Christ personally and become one with the Body of Christ. That is our Holy Communion. Having bonded to Christ in Blessed Sacrament you too do as Jesus did. In Jesus God was at the service of his creatures, humanity. In your fellowship with Christ you are at the service of your brothers and sisters. At this Easter time, may your faces shine as the face of Christ to the world. In Christ we have a new life. May you be agents of new life for many. Just as Christ was risen from the pit of destruction let us rebuild the Body of Christ from the devastations of scandals, corruption, neglect of the needy, and such other darkness. Together we shall shine forth the glory of the risen Christ to the world. Let there be joy and peace that Christ is alive and He is with us!