Readings (Year C):
Acts 5:12 – 16
Psalm 118:2 – 4, 13 – 15, 22 – 24
Revelation 1:9 – 11a, 12 – 13, 17 – 19
John 20:19 – 31
Reflection: May we continue to channel resurrection
It’s the second Sunday of Easter, and Christ is risen. While we might take resurrection for granted 2,000 years after the fact, I don’t blame Thomas for his initial response.If Thomas were to look around today, I’m sure he’d still question Christ’s resurrection, since it seems like Christ is missing from a lot of the evil and tragic situations in the world.
We miss a lot when we focus solely on our own perception, however. If we’re not careful, we can mistake our own partial opinions for impartial truth. While many forms of media portray only partial opinions, the impartial truth is that Christ is risen and continues to rise in many of us every day. We identify this when we go through the Acts of the Apostles. This book is filled with stories of wonders and signs, to the point where even Peter’s shadow gets mentioned as amazing.
The gospel writer mentions there were many things Jesus did that weren’t recorded in the book. But in this book of life, just because something isn’t recorded, or posted to social media, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.
Resurrection is a reality that the body of Christ brings to life every day. From parents doing their best to raise their families, to young people being brave enough to dream of a better future, to climate activists being resilient enough to advocate for healing the planet—when we take a genuine interest in the stories of others, we realize the spirit of Christ is the spirit of hope. We realize the salvation of Christ isn’t just an eschatological phenomenon: Salvation comes in the form of people, and if you’d like to know who salvation looks like, I suggest you look in the mirror.
History won’t record most of us, but our stories and lived experiences inspire the Resurrection story of our faith. Our strength doesn’t come from power or wealth. Our strength comes from the fact that God, infinitely loving and merciful, shapes us in God’s image and likeness to participate in the divine mission of bringing about a redeemed world.
In this redeemed world, Earth isn’t at a tipping point, Martin Luther King isn’t labelled a troublemaker, and you aren’t criticized for doing your best for the common good. In this redeemed world, resurrection wells up in our lives, and we fill the world with resurrection. This redeemed world remembers; it remembers it is redeemed because of the collective action of many unnamed individuals.
Our redeemable world is redeemed when enough people believe their actions matter, even during crucifixion. Our redeemable world is depending on us to live resurrection. Resurrection is a responsibility of the body of Christ.
My prayer for us this Easter season is that we continue to channel the grace of Christ’s resurrection in our every move. May we bring about a world redeemed by resurrection. May the body of Christ be the reason there are blessed among us who haven’t seen and still believe.
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