Resurrection and Life

I groaned when I first began reflecting on the readings for this weekend. The readings refer to the question of Resurrection.

The Resurrection of the body is one of the core tenets of our faith. At every weekend mass, we say in the creed that we believe in the Resurrection of the body. And I do. But I certainly feel inadequate to understand and talk about what that means.

But knowing that God does not disappoint, I decided to be still in God’s presence and see if I could come to a clearer understanding of what Resurrection means.  

In the Resurrection stories, there is an eternal truth that we can understand. If we can trust Jesus enough to walk with Him, we can learn what Resurrection means for Jesus and what it means for us.

In the Gospel of John, the first person Jesus meets after the Resurrection is His friend, Mary. She goes to the tomb bringing spices to place with the body of Jesus. Mary finds the tomb open, and Jesus was gone. Imagine how frantic she must have been. Jesus, whom she loved, was beaten, broken, and killed. He was hurriedly laid in this borrowed tomb. And now he was gone. Mary goes in a frantic search for His body. Meeting a gardener, she asks if he knows where Jesus’ body has been taken. Jesus says her name, and instantly Mary recognizes Him. Mary saw and knew Jesus, the one she loved, without question.  

Ahh, so there was my first understanding of the Resurrection. If our Resurrection is like Jesus, then we are not only recognized but present to those we love after we die. We hear the one we love in a stranger’s laugh, the appearance of a Cardinal or a butterfly, and the loving look of another. If we train ourselves to listen with the ears of faith, we hear the voice of the one we have loved speaking our name. Yet, so often, we explain our experiences as imagination rather than recognizing them as a part of the Resurrection of our loved ones as they were of Jesus.

In the Gospel of Luke, we read the story of two disciples on their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They meet a stranger. The stranger inspires them with His words and gives them hope in their despair. When he stops to eat with them, they immediately recognize Jesus. In the simple act of sharing the Word and a meal, they saw Jesus resurrected. Perhaps, if we truly believe what Jesus promised, then we, if we are open, will recognize those who have gone before us. In simple actions and moments that echo the moments of love we shared. We will see and feel those we love and still know them with us.

After the Resurrection, Jesus appeared to the Disciples in an upper room where they were gathered in fear. Jesus brought them peace, calmed their anxiety, and gave them hope. So often, when we experience the death of the ones we love, we withdraw to the upper room of our pain and loneliness. If we can allow ourselves to simply be still and make room in the pain of our loss, we will know the comforting presence of those we have loved. They will be present to us just like Jesus was to the disciples in that upper room. They will soothe our distress and calm our fear. 

There are so many stories of Jesus’ Resurrection. We hear about Jesus cooking fish on a beach. Jesus has a most loving encounter with Thomas. All the stories have in common that Jesus continued to be present in tangible, concrete ways to those He loved and those who loved Him after His death. He continues to be present to us two millennia later.

Jesus promised us a Resurrection like His. If we live with loving and trusting hearts, we will see and know those we love who have gone to the heart of God.

With the eyes of faith, with the eyes of love, we will know and experience the real presence of those we love as with us still. We will see them in others as Mary saw Jesus in the gardener. We will know them in the stranger when we open our hearts with trust as the disciples did on the way to Emmaus. They will come and be with us when we are frightened and alone, just as Jesus came to the disciples in the upper room. 

We need only believe the words of Jesus. Just as He is with us to the end of time, so too are the ones we love. Jesus promised it would be so, and He is to be trusted.

In God’s Unending Love,

Gwen