April 9, 2023 - Pastor Message
04/30/2024“Mary of Magdala ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved and told them, ‘They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him’ … For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead” (John 20:2, 9).
Without the resurrection, there would be no Christianity. Prior to the resurrection, people confused Jesus with other figures: a prophet, a rabbi, a miracle worker, a revolutionary. Even his closest disciples, like Peter, John, and Mary Magdalene, did not understand him. Though Peter professed him to be the Christ at Caesarea Philippi, he had no idea what that truly meant.
Until they encountered the risen Christ. Then the scales fell from their eyes, and they saw clearly who he is. While he is certainly all the things mentioned above, he is so much more than any of these or even all of them together. He redefines these earthly identities by uniting heaven and earth in himself, existing on a completely different level that conquers and transcends all worldly categories and limitations, even death. The resurrection proves that he is everything he said he is, the Son of God and Son of Man, and, if that’s who he is, then everything he said and did is true, including his promise that he would share his risen life with all who believe in him, thus establishing Christianity.
Sadly today, 2000 years after the resurrection, many people still do not understand or believe in Christ, denying themselves and others the fullness of life he promises, even among those of us who identify as Christian. Some people today see him as a fraud, just one of many rabbis at the time whose radical teachings were proven false by his crucifixion. Some see him in a better light, as a kindhearted teacher who had some nice ideas about how we should live or as a social justice advocate who championed the poor and oppressed but whose more supernatural teachings and stories were simply the wild imaginings of a more ignorant, superstitious age. Some go so far today as to deny that Jesus ever existed, believing him to be a purely mythical figure, part god and part man, like Hercules or Achilles, and some simply ignore the issue of Jesus altogether and live as if he never existed.
There are many reasons for the lack of faith in Jesus today, but underlying them all is the fact that so many people today have never encountered the real, live, risen Christ. Unlike the awesome experience of the apostles and Mary Magdalene, people today have never seen him as he truly is, and the primary reason for that is because we who dare to call ourselves Christians haven’t revealed him to them. We haven’t shared the good news of his resurrection and the life-changing impact our faith in Jesus has on us, maybe because we ourselves have never truly encountered him or have forgotten what that experience was like.
If so, then Easter is the season for us. It is the time we turn away from our Lenten mourning over our sins and the cross and rejoice over the new life we have received in the risen Christ. He died 2000 years ago, but he lives, now and forever, in all his glory. By pouring out on us the gift of his own Spirit, he shares that same life and glory with us. This Easter season, encounter the living Jesus again by reflecting deeply on the gospel stories of the resurrection and prayerfully celebrating and receiving him as he comes to us in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, his enduring presence in our midst. Renew your faith in the risen Christ, and then go and share the gift of faith with the world. On behalf of our entire parish, may you and yours have a Blessed, joyful, and life-changing Easter.
Fr. Marc Stockton
-
Current News