Eastertide
The Rev. Michael Dean Vinson / Eastertide - Pentecost, 2023, Issue 6
"On the third day, he rose again according to the Scriptures." Every Sunday, with the Creed, we renew our profession of faith in Christ's Resurrection, a surprising event that is the keystone of Christianity. Everything in the Church is understood based on this great mystery which changed the course of history and becomes present in every Eucharistic celebration. However, there is one liturgical season in which this central reality of the Christian faith is presented more vividly to the faithful, with its doctrinal richness and inexhaustible vitality, so that they may discover it ever better and live it more faithfully: it is the Easter Season.
Every year, in the "Most Holy Triduum of the Crucified, Dead and Risen Christ," as St Augustine calls it, the Church relives the last events of Jesus' earthly life in an atmosphere of prayer and penance: his condemnation to death, his ascent to Calvary carrying the Cross, his sacrifice for our salvation, and his burial. Then, on the "third day," the Church relives his Resurrection: it is the Passover, Jesus' passing from death to life in which the ancient prophecies were completely fulfilled. The entire liturgy of the Easter Season sings the certitude and joy of Christ's Resurrection.
Dear brothers and sisters, we must constantly renew our devotion to Christ who died and rose for us: his Passover is also our Passover because, in the Risen Christ, we are given the certainty of our own Resurrection. The news of his being raised from the dead never ages, and Jesus is alive forever, and his Gospel is alive. "The faith of Christians," St Augustine observed, "is the Resurrection of Christ." The Acts of the Apostles explain it clearly: "God has given assurance to all men by raising him [Jesus] from the dead" (17: 31). Indeed, his death did not suffice to demonstrate that Jesus is truly the Son of God, the awaited Messiah. How many people in the course of history devoted their lives to a cause they deemed right and died for it? And dead they remained.
The Lord's death reveals the immense love with which he loved us, to the point of sacrificing himself for us, but his Resurrection alone is our "assurance," the certainty that what he said is the truth which also applies to us, for all times. In raising Jesus, the Father glorified him. In his Letter to the Romans, St Paul wrote: "If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (10: 9).
It is important to reaffirm this fundamental truth of our faith, whose historical veracity is amply documented even today, as in the past, there are many who, in various ways, cast doubt on it or even deny it. The enfeeblement of faith in the Resurrection of Jesus weakens the witness of believers. In fact, should the Church's faith in the Resurrection weaken, everything will come to a halt and disintegrate. On the contrary, the adherence of heart and mind to the dead and Risen Christ changes life and brightens the entire existence of people and peoples. Is it not the certainty that Christ is risen that instills courage, prophetic daring, and perseverance in martyrs of every epoch? Is it not the encounter with the living Jesus that converts and fascinates so many men and women who, from the beginnings of Christianity, have continued to leave all things to follow him and put their own lives at the service of the Gospel? "If Christ has not been raised," the Apostle Paul said, "then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain" (I Cor 15: 14). But he was raised!
The Lord is with us; he shows us the true path. Just as the two disciples recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread, so today, let us too recognize his presence in the breaking of the bread. The disciples of Emmaus recognized him and remembered the times when Jesus had broken the bread. This breaking of the bread reminds us of the first Eucharist celebrated in the context of the Last Supper when Jesus broke the bread and thus anticipated his death and Resurrection by giving himself to the disciples.
Jesus also breaks bread with us, and for us, he makes himself present with us in the Holy Eucharist; he gives us himself and opens our hearts. In the Holy Eucharist, in the encounter with his Word, we too can meet and know Jesus at this two-fold Table of the Word and the consecrated Bread and Wine. Every Sunday, we gather here and relive the Lord's Passover and receive from the Saviour his testament of love and brotherly service. Dear brothers and sisters, may the joy of these days strengthen our faithful attachment to the Crucified and Risen Christ. Above all, may we let ourselves be won over by the fascination of his Resurrection. May God open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold Him in all his works, especially in this most Holy Communion, where he comes and nurtures our bodies and souls for the work of his Kingdom. The Peace of Christ be with you.
The Rev. Michael Dean Vinson serves as Rector of St. Benedict’s Anglican Church in Rockwall Texas.
