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Jesus lives, His mercy is alive!
May 22, 2007
Jesus lives, his mercy is alive
by Robert Martinez
Robert Martinez is the Parish Ministry Coordinator and Youth Minister for Christ the King Parish in Hollywood. He is finishing up his Masters in Theology from Loyola Marymount University.
I write this article as our Church concludes the powerful liturgical season of Lent, Holy Week with the Triduum, and Easter- the Resurrection! It was an amazing journey that allowed us to traverse from the desert, through the streets of Jerusalem, into the garden and the upper room, by way of the Cross, within the stillness of the Tomb, and finally face to face with our Risen Lord. Fr. Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R., enlightens us to the monumental events of the Triduum by explaining, “The events of Holy Thursday are almost all incomplete realities. They look forward to what is to come for their completion. The very next day the blood of the Eucharist must be shed and the body must be broken. But even then, what do we see but the corpse of an atrociously abused man, like the image seen on the Shroud of Turin? We must keep going so that the Eucharist is not a funeral procession and the life of Christ is not just another noble failure. He Lives! On the third day he comes back to life, never to die again” (The King, Crucified and Risen). Jesus lives, therefore his mercy is alive and tangible to those of us who are enslaved by the darkness of the tomb. Christ is de facto Risen and present among us. Jesus assures us and consoles us in the gospel of Luke by saying, “Why are you troubled? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have” (Luke 24:35-48). We are enabled, through his immeasurable grace and by the power of the Holy Spirit, to “touch and see” him through the mercy of others, by way of the experience of the sacraments (particularly through the Eucharist), and by the exploration of the scriptures. Further, the gospel testifies: “Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead and on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” Indeed, we who know in the deep recesses of our heart, that we are redeemed, forgiven, extended the spectacular gift of God’s mercy, and therefore “ourselves” brought back to life from the grave- are in fact “witnesses to these things.” Our Risen Lord has taken the long and treacherous journey ahead of us, from the desert to the tomb, out of obedience to the Father so that we one day will rise our of our tombs of mediocrity, hate, indifference, arrogance, and injustice. Although, are we paying attention or is the Paschal Mystery merely a funeral procession?
Giuseppe Ricciotti, an Italian scripture scholar, poignantly remarks: “Certain it is that Jesus is today more alive than ever among us. All have need of him, either to love him or to curse him, but they cannot do without him. Many people in the past have been loved with extreme intensity- Socrates by his disciples. Julius Caesar by his legionaries, Napoleon by his soldiers. But today they belong irrevocably to the past; not a heart beats at their memory. There is no one who would give his life or even his possessions for them even though their ideals are still being advocated. And when their ideals are opposed, no one ever thinks of cursing Socrates or Julius Caesar or Napoleon, because their personalities no longer have any influence; they are bygones. But not Jesus; Jesus is still
Loved, and he is still cursed; people still renounce their possessions and even their lives both for love of him and out of hatred for him. No living being is as alive as Jesus” (Magnificat, April, pg. 77). A deep interior conviction that Jesus is alive should propel us to live our faith with “extreme intensity” and honor his supreme act of love and mercy by extending his living, compassionate mercy to those who still curse him.
Jesus lives, his mercy is alive, and therefore we have the potential for a Blessed life. I align with the Apocalypse where it says, “When I caught sight of him, I fell down at his feet as though dead. He touched me with his right hand and said, ‘Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, the one who lives. Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever…” (Revelation 1:9-19). Upon this revelation, we must no longer be afraid and strive forth to reach out to the Christ and receive his light. Perhaps all of us at some point in our life have experienced a form of the Paschal Mystery- the scourging, the crowning of thorns, the carrying of the heavy cross, and a form of death. Father Hans Urs Von Balthasar aligns with our plight and has words of consolation for us: “But since you are so wounded and the open torment of your heart has opened up to the abyss of your very self, put out your hand to me and, with it, feel the pulse of another heart: through this new experience your soul will surrender and heave up the dark gall which it has long collected. I must overpower you…” Further, the Swiss Catholic Theologian expresses the heart of our Risen Lord by saying, “I cannot spare exacting from you your melancholy- your most loved possession. Give it to me, even if it costs you your soul and your inner self thinks it must die. Give me this idol, this cold stony clot in your breast, and in its place I will give you a new heart of flesh that will beat to the pulse of my own heart.”
And now we must mobilize: “Give me this self of yours, which lives on its not being able to live, which is sick because it cannot die. Let it perish, and you will finally begin to live. You are enamored by the sad puzzle of your incomprehensible ego. But you have already been seen through and comprehended, for look: if your heart accuses you, I am nevertheless greater than this your heart, and I know everything. Dare to make the leap into the light!” (Magnificat, April, Pg. 144).
After experiencing the inescapable power of the Holy season of Lent and Easter, we can come to no other conclusion than the light is near, alive, and accessible. Sister Ameliana Lohr convincingly explains, “Easter has made Christ’s resurrection a present reality for ourselves; we have risen with him. Our life in Christ that began with our baptism has been renewed. Christ our God has led us from death to life. No matter how long ago the day of our baptism, time and space count for nothing in the sacred mystery. It has happened now; it is now that we have put on the new being. That is the great joy of Easter: our youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Magnificat, April, pg. 88).
Jesus lives and therefore his love, compassion, healing, and merciful heart are available to those of us who believe Easter is a mere passing holiday and “Divine Mercy” is a mere icon. Dues est simper major- God is always more. Our Lord says, “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly,” – are we open to receiving that life or is his love to burdensome? Further, in the apocalypse he says, “Behold, I make all things new.” It is today that we can all begin to enjoy a foretaste of the Passover in the heavenly Jerusalem, as St. Augustine exclaims, “What joy, dear friends! Joy in all being gathered together here; joy in singing the psalms and hymns; joy in remembering Christ’s passion and resurrection; joy in our hope of the life to come! If hope alone gives such happiness, what will possession do? In these days, as we hear the Alleluia ring out, our spirits are as though transfigured. Do we not seem to taste something of that supernal city? (Sermon, Paschal Vigil). “Because he lives I can face tomorrow, because he lives all fear is gone, because I know who holds the future life is worth the living, just because he lives!” (unknown). Jesus, I trust in you.
Topics: Essays |