During this Easter season, the Church basks in the afterglow of the Resurrection. The strife is over and the battle is won, as one of the Easter hymns assures us. The suffering of Jesus has ended and death has been conquered. And the vanquishing of death is not only by and for Jesus Himself, but it is offered to all of us if we are faithful.
Most especially, what has been demonstrated by the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus is the fulfillment of what is famously written in the Gospel of John: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life” (Jn 3:16).
The Gospels recount that the followers of Jesus responded on Easter day with a joy that came from receiving a love from God Himself. They had been devastated by the horror of Good Friday. First, the events crushed their love for the person of Jesus who had transformed their hearts because of His total divine goodness. Additionally, they were downcast because it seemed that death had been stronger than the promises of Jesus.
But whether it was the women running to tell the apostles of what they had seen or the men on the road to Emmaus, or when He who had been dead appeared to them in the upper room, their emotions knew no limit.
We now live with the early Church the 40 days that Jesus spent appearing to His faithful friends before His ascension to the Father. We might say that this period was meant to teach a consequence of love for Jesus that will be necessary for each of us and for the Church as a whole. It is the fulfillment of the wisdom found in the Book of Proverbs: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, on your own intelligence do not rely; In all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths” (Prov 3: 5-6).
Our way forward with the Risen Lord seeks the fulfillment of our hearts, the personal and in some ways emotional call to love Him. But now we must face the challenges of trusting the one we love to take care of us, even when things seem dark or overwhelming. Love without trust is not real love.
The great sin of Adam and Eve resulted from the devil arousing distrust of God in the parents of the human race. “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat from any of the trees in the garden’? … God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know good and evil” (Gen 3, 1,5). Instead of trusting the God whom they loved to fulfill His promises they snatched the fruit and so broke faith.
For us too, much of the spiritual life is a matter of trusting God’s love. Will He really give a place in His kingdom to our parents, siblings and friends who have already died? Even more important, will there really be a place for us? Couples may ask, “When I make the solemn commitment of family in the sacrament of marriage, will He really help us to fulfill and live out our permanent bond?”
We worry about and fall into the modern desire for material things. But Jesus told us, “Do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ … But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides” (Mt 6: 31, 33).
Our task now is to pray much, and to live simply and with spiritual discipline. We are to be faithful to the teaching of Jesus given us through the Church. Easter shows us that Jesus loves us and He will take care of all our needs so that we might share fully and personally in the Resurrection that we celebrated on Easter Sunday.
