Living the Easter Experience

Easter is the central and most dynamic celebration in Christianity. It commemorates the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ from the most ignominious crucifixion and death to vibrant and new life. The Christian faith is rooted in this historical event. It confirms Jesus’ victory over sin and death and all the negative forces that came on the way.

While Christians celebrate Christmas as the introduction of Jesus Christ, Easter celebrates the culmination and fulfilment of Jesus' mission. For Christians, Easter is not merely a historical remembrance but a vibrant experience of hope, renewal and transformation. This emerges from real scriptural foundation, profound theological depth, dynamic pastoral implications and personal and practical applications.

The scriptural foundation of Easter lies in the resurrection narratives in the New Testament. Each gospel describes the empty tomb and the real appearance of the risen Lord Jesus. He was crucified on Friday and buried in a tomb. On the third day, the women disciples, such as Mary Magdalene, came to the tomb and found it empty. Angels announced that Jesus rose from the dead. Later, Jesus appeared to all the disciples to prove that He had risen from the tomb (Mt 28:1-10, Mk 16:1-8, Lk 24:1-35, Jn 20: 1-18).

The apostles and the early Christians gave great importance to the mystery of the resurrection of Christ. In fact, this was the only theme of their belief, preaching and sharing. No one could stop them. As Paul, the most powerful preacher, said openly: “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is our faith” (1 Cor 15:14).

In theological reflection, the Resurrection of Jesus points to the victory over sin and death. This was not only for him but for the whole of humanity. This is the confirmation of Jesus' divinity. Jesus preached about his own death and resurrection, and he proved it himself. Further, the resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of Christian hope, to realize that death is not the end of all. Hence, resurrection gives meaning to long suffering, painful sacrifice, and patient perseverance. Further, Easter inaugurates a new creation. Christ is described as the new Adam of the new creation.

From a pastoral point of view, Easter demands renewal of our faith. After the penitential days of Lent and acts of penance, Easter brings us to the Joyful season of renewal. We are reminded that forgiveness, healing, and transformation are always possible. This points to a spiritually dynamic sort of life. This reminds us not to be lethargic and lukewarm in our life. This means we are constantly called to conversion. “Just as Christ was raised from the dead, we too may live a new life” (Rom. 6: 4). This means Christians are called to carry the values of resurrection as love, peace, joy, justice, kindness, faithfulness, goodness, patience, gentleness, reconciliation and compassion.

For Practical and Personal application, the impact of Easter dynamism in personal life is various and multifaceted. First of all, reflection on Ester must help us accept the cross that leads to the glorious resurrection. Easter calls the Christians to have a moral transformation. We are people of the resurrection. This demands living a life of forgiveness, charity, and service to others. We are also called to work for peace in the world. This must be taken as the missionary dimension of the church today. Christians are called to share the message of peace, justice and hope. We are called to a spirituality of trust in God, reconciliation, and imparting joy to all.

Christians face discouragement, failure, injustice, broken relationships, loss of meaning, threat to life of faith, and to overcome all these, we need “Easter” experience. With Mary Magdalene, we need to reflect as to who would roll away the “stone”, and we will see that the Lord has taken away the stone of sufferings in life with love and patience. The areas of sufferings are experiences in hard moments, loss of beloved ones, sickness, tensions of all sorts etc.  These must be encountered with courage and hope. We learn this from Jesus in his active life of three years. The Lord teaches that suffering and death are not the end of all. This is only the style of Christian life.

 (In this context, it is to be remembered that Mary Magdalene was a very rich and powerful woman of her time. She was very devoted to Jesus. She had 50 acres of Olive trees, and she was fully supporting the mission of Jesus. She used to travel with Jesus and the disciples. Even during the last hours of Jesus, when the disciples left Jesus out of fear, Mary Magdalene accompanied Jesus till the last moment. This reveals her power, social influence and dedication. Nobody could stop her courageous and committed step. She had come to the tomb of Jesus early in the morning with enough workers to remove the stone…. After the Ascension of Jesus, when the disciples were spread out to different places, Mary Magdalene, with her companions, went to France to evangelize the people there. We read this in the mission history of France. St Augustine named Mary Magdalene as the Apostle of Apostles. Pope Paul Vl, in 1969, asked the whole world pardon for mistakenly placing Magdalene as a prostitute. On June 10, 2016, Pope Francis raised the name of Blessed Magdalene to the rank of a Saint. Now the Church celebrates her feast on July 22).

To sum up, Easter is at the center of Christian faith and life. We need to be rooted in Scripture, enriched by profound theological meaning, and lived in pastoral practice. The identity of Christians is the lived life of Easter as seen in the life of Jesus and the apostles. In the infant church community, people rushed to join the Easter community of the apostles (Acts 2:42). No one could resist joining the life of the apostles. The powerful message of Easter proclaims hope to triumph over death, to have light to overcome darkness and thus to enjoy Christ’s love and life in the world.

Further, Easter is the dynamic event of encouragement. The risen Lord beamed with power to encourage the followers. He entered locked-up rooms to greet his friends. Easter is the imparting of peace. The Lord’s only message and language was peace. He embodied newness and hope to start all over again. He never counted what he lost but dared to go forward. In everyone, he found and created newness. No one’s failures were in His ledger, but He created new folders. Women enjoyed great power as Mother Mary and Mary Magdalene. True, the Easter message is vibrant and dynamic.

Blurbs

For Christians, Easter is not merely a historical remembrance but a vibrant experience of hope, renewal and transformation.

Christians face discouragement, failure, injustice, broken relationships, loss of meaning, threats to life of faith, and to overcome all these, we need the Easter experience.