Christ is Risen (and at Work)!

Two points that are essential for us to understand as we celebrate Easter and then our lives beyond Easter are these. First, Christ is risen! This is the oldest proclamation of the Church – even before they knew it was a proclamation. Second, Christ, the Risen One, is alive and present to the world. This is what the disciples experience in the Upper Room in our gospel today. These two points are what I would like to reflect upon today.

Christ is risen! He is truly risen. As I said, this is the oldest proclamation of Christ’s Church, from the morning of that first Easter. It was on the lips of the angelic messengers at the tomb, then it was on the lips of the women who heard that message. It is what the disciples from the Emmaus road shared, and it was the same news with which they themselves were greeted.

Jesus truly rose from the dead. The One who was crucified, who suffered so horribly during His Passion, who was placed in a newly hewn tomb – this same Person, Jesus of Nazareth, is not dead. He lives forever, filling His human nature with the power and glory of His divinity. And through that same miracle of the Resurrection, He shares that experience with us. Jesus is risen, so you and I may rise as well.

It is impossible to overstate the power of that message. The fact that Christ has risen from the dead – physically, in reality – means that what He said and did in life was true. God loves us and wants us to live forever with Him. We are freed from the oppression of sin and all its structures so that we can live fully for God. This is not just a concept or a metaphor; rather, it is the truth.

Just as important, however, is the second point I want to make. This risen Jesus did not just appear to the Apostles and the disappear again. Instead, He lives forever in His Church and is truly present to the world through Her. “When He said this, He showed them His hands and His side” … “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Jesus is alive and accompanies His People through history.

This is important as well. We cannot relegate our faith in the risen Lord to the pages of Scripture or to some unused part of our daily lives. He is an essential partner in our baptismal call. This is why the Church – the Body of Christ – must speak and act on behalf of those in need in the real world. This is why the pope must speak out for peace and against those who would wage war and inflict suffering. It is not simply someone’s opinion; it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, present and alive right now at this point in history. We cannot deny Him, let alone doubt Him.

Being a Church that speaks and acts inevitably draws criticism that we are acting “politically.” That our agenda is one of naïve pacifism or infantile hope. Perhaps people felt the same about Christ when He taught us to love our enemies and to pray for our persecutors. We cannot draw a separation between “Sunday faith” and “practical faith.” They are the same thing, or they are nothing at all. Is it hard to live such faith? Of course it is. That doesn’t make it any less essential or life-giving.

As disciples of Jesus, our first task – and really our only task – is to be agents of His first Easter gift of “Peace.” That was the first word from the Risen One’s lips after the resurrection. He offered His friends peace, and He commands that we now offer that same peace to the world. Of this peace, St. Oscar Romero said, “That is [Jesus’] gift: peace. That is why any people that riddles peace with bullets—it’s sad to say it— is not a Christian people. … My dear sisters and brothers … my hope is that all of you without distinction fall on your knees before Christ who alone gives peace. Peace does not come from military operations …, nor does peace come from the revenge carried out by some popular organization. Peace comes only from Christ. Only by believing in Christ and in one another can we ever experience true peace.”

So, friends, let me repeat it: Christ is risen! He is truly risen and has appeared to us. He is also truly present – Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity in His Church, which speaks and acts for Him in the world. You and I are that Church, and we have work to do! “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” “Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, as you attain the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”