THE GIFT OF IMMORTALITY

EASTER SATURDAY

Act 4:13-21; Ps 118:1,14-21; Mk 16:9-24

The Invitation to Immortality

The speech of Saint Peter before the ruling families and elders of the people in Jerusalem was captivating; the argument he presented to explain the miracle was scripturally sound and convincing, as we noted yesterday. After the speech, the rulers did not find any way to perforate his argument for the resurrection because of the healed man standing beside Peter, a result of his belief in the resurrection. “The rulers and scribes were astonished at the assurance shown by Peter and John, and they recognised them as associates of Jesus; but when they saw the man who had been cured standing by their side, they could find no answer.” The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a wonderful gift of God to humanity. The implications are far-reaching for the life of any man. However, we have to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ to receive the gift and the effects of the resurrection. The rulers and elders who were unwilling to believe even when the Holy Spirit, through Peter, had given them sufficient reason to believe the resurrection, refused the gift of immortality God offers to all by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If the resurrection of the Lord proved his power over death, it shows he has no sin, which would cause death to hold him down. So, his sacrificial death truly atoned for our sins and redeemed us from death.

God called us to receive this Good News of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and enter deeply into its benefits for our lives. It will take a lifetime to fully understand and appropriate the implications of the gift of the Lord’s resurrection. The will of the Lord Jesus, who died for us, is that we receive and proclaim what we have received through our words and actions daily. As God, Jesus does not need anything. It is for us and our salvation that he assumes human nature. Thus, all he did in our nature is for us to inherit by faith in his name and his resurrection. It is the expressed will of the Lord for his disciples to proclaim his resurrection everywhere throughout the nations, for people to gain the fruits of his paschal mysteries and possess immortality in his name. He reproached the apostles who were reluctant to believe the Good News of his resurrection because that is the only way to enter the new life he has gained for us in the Holy Spirit. “Lastly, he showed himself to the Eleven themselves while they were at the table. He reproached them for their incredulity and obstinacy because they had refused to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.” Faith in the resurrection of the Lord is like a seed we must sow in our lives, which we must tend every day with care and prayerful attention, letting it shape every aspect of our lives.

Since the Holy Spirit is the main agent of the spread of this news and the cause of its germination, growth, and fruition in our lives, the more we make allowance for this mystery and express it in our lives, the better the Spirit of resurrection animates our being. Jesus commands us to proclaim this Good News to all nations as a means of immortality, a communion with God. “And he said to them, ‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation.” If this is the expressed will of God, to do otherwise is to sin against the Lord. So, Peter refused to obey the command of the rulers of the people and the elders to stop speaking in the name of Jesus Christ. “So, they called them in and gave them a warning on no account to make statements or to teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John retorted, ‘You must judge whether in God’s eyes it is right to listen to you and not to God. We cannot promise to stop proclaiming what we have seen and heard.” We must never allow any trick of the devil or threats from evil people to make us stop witnessing the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our salvation and that of others depends on our faithfulness to the proclamation.

Let us pray: O God, who by the abundance of your grace give increase to the peoples who believe in you, look with favour on those you have chosen and clothe with blessed immortality those reborn through the Sacrament of Baptism. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.