Happy Easter! As I type this I am preparing for the 3rd Sunday of Easter. It is a marvelous season as well as a wonderful time of year. We are finally experiencing beautiful spring weather. Those bulbs are sprouting and blooming. And the powerful and joyful message of new life in our Risen Lord continues to germinate in our lives each time we read the Bible passages regarding the Resurrection.
Saint Augustine once wrote that the Lord retained the scars of the wounds of the Passion, even in His Risen and Glorified Body, so that our wounds would be healed. As you read these Easter passages from the Bible, often referred to as “post Resurrection narratives”, allow those words to enter you mind and your heart. Come to believe, as the disciples did when they reached the empty tomb. Proclaim Jesus as both Lord and God as Thomas did. Be amazed, surprised and overjoyed even though this may be something you have known for years.
The Holy Spirit, who we will celebrate in a big way on Pentecost Sunday, makes the printed and proclaimed words of Scripture come alive. We need only to listen with faith and not just with our ears for the forgiveness, life and healing power of God’s word to bear fruit in our lives.
We are healed from the wounds of doubt. We are healed from the wounds of sin. We are healed from the wounds of our past. We are healed from the weakness of the flesh. We are healed from the weakness of our weak wills. The scars may remain in our memories, tendencies, bad habits or damaged psyches and bodies, but the healing is real.
This aspect alone of the power of the Risen Lord takes a lifetime to realize, and it is only the beginning. No wonder the Church provides these 50 days of Easter for us every year.
He is Risen!
Easter Blessings, Father Mike