|
Jesus’s victory in the resurrection is not a blessing
for some selected persons, but a grace gathering all
peoples to life (Acts 10:34.37-43). In Him, death has
lost its finality and has become a passageway to a new
life (John 20:1-9). The Easter season is the time for
mystagogical catechesis, which unpacks the deeper
meaning of the sacraments of initiation received or
renewed on Easter.
The word
of life
Cornelius, the centurion in
Caesarea, sent for Peter and, together with his entire household, told him, “We
are all here in the presence of God to listen to all
that you have been commanded by the Lord.” Peter’s
ensuing discourse represents for Luke the official
opening of the early Church to the universality of the
saving mission of Jesus. Peter, the leader of the
Twelve, welcomed the gentile Cornelius to the faith, and
henceforth “anyone who believes.”
Peter’s
speech at Cornelius’s home, revealing the method of the
early disciples in proselytizing gentiles, outlines the
story of Jesus from His baptism, through His ministry,
to His death and resurrection. The story of Jesus and
His preaching was God’s word sent to the Israelites
proclaiming peace. God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit
and power. It was in and through this power that Jesus
performed healings and good works.
Witness
to the resurrection
God’s
word of life in Jesus is not ended. His ministry
continues through those He Himself commissioned to
preach the good news to all. Peter in the narration is
doing precisely that, bearing witness to the
resurrection of Jesus and proclaiming its universal
effects. He teaches first of all that Jesus’s
resurrection is clearly the work of God. Occurring three
days after His death, it was not a mere resuscitation
but a genuine resurrection from the dead. He was seen as
risen by some and then ate and drank with several of His
followers, including Peter, “the witnesses chosen by God
in advance.” These appearances of the risen Jesus
demonstrate that they were real physical experiences and
not some sort of hallucination only.
The
effects of the resurrection of Jesus are encompassing
and transforming. According to Peter, Jesus as appointed
by God fulfills the role of the eschatological arbiter
and judges all the living and the dead. He judges to
save and to transform, not to damn or to condemn. God
raised Jesus up to bring forgiveness of sin to all who
believe in him. That He is the Anointed One of God is
testified to by the prophets. Thus, Peter explains the
mystery of Jesus in terms of the prophetic expectation
of Israel while, at the same time, reinterpreting the
earlier prophetic tradition.
The
mysterious reality
“It was
still dark” when Mary Magdalene visited the tomb of
Jesus. Though it was the dawn of a new day and a new
creation, the darkness of lack of faith was still at
hand. Seeing that the stone had been removed from the
tomb, she presumed the body of Jesus had been removed.
No thought of His resurrection. She ran off to tell
Peter and the unnamed other disciple, speaking in the
plural, “We don’t know where they put him.” They
expressed the same perplexity when they saw later the
burial wrappings still in the tomb but without the body.
If the body had been merely transferred to some other
place, the burials cloths would have been taken along,
too. No explanation for the head cloth rolled up
separately. Not a word is said what Peter thought about
these.
The
unnamed disciple is referred to as the one Jesus loved.
He was beloved, and he was faith-filled. He noted the
details and saw light and believed. It is remarkable
that here, the resurrection faith sprang forth from an
experience of the empty tomb, to be later firmed up by
the appearances of the risen Lord. The text speaks of
the general lack of faith on the part of the disciples
as explained by the fact that “they did not understand
the Scripture.” The mysterious reality of the
resurrection, as well as Jesus’s suffering and death,
were too much for the followers to comprehend, despite
what Jesus told them beforehand. They would need a
resurrection experience to open their minds to the
meaning of the Scriptures.
Alálaong
bagá,
the newness of life in Jesus Christ burst forth in
unimaginable ways in His resurrection and as proclaimed
later through the preaching of the first Christians. On
Easter we renew our baptismal vows in the freshness of a
new life. What do we really renounce and what do we
honestly believe in? The world of the Filipinos is one
of poverty caused by unbridled corruption, violence and
injustice due to disregard of the law, lies and social
indifference driven by self-interests. If only Easter
can truly sink into our flesh, so that we die and rise
with Christ, dying to greed and selfishness and
wickedness, and rising to truth and justice and love,
then we can speak of a new life for Filipinos in the
power of the resurrection.
For more of my reflections and works, visit my blogsite:
http://alalaongbaga.multiply.com. |
