ENCOUNTERING THE PRINCE OF LIFE

EASTER THURSDAY   

Acts 3:11-26; Ps 8:2,5-9; Lk 24:35-48

You killed the Prince of Life

In metaphysical considerations, these three: life, truth, and good are seen as cognates; that is, they refer to the same thing essentially but are perceived differently. Ultimately, God is life, truth, and good. Other things share in these qualities to the degree they participate in the being of God. Therefore, we encounter God in our encounters with life, truth, and goodness. Our individual openness to these three presentations of God determines the quality of our existence and our transformation into the likeness of Jesus Christ. The mission of the Word in human nature is basically to present the truth of God (his life and goodness also) in a way that is congenial to us for our salvation. As we have previously presented, the mission was first directed to the Jews, for it is from them that salvation comes. Our Lord made this clear to the Samaritan woman in the Gospel of John 4:22. “You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.” The surface meaning of this statement is that God has revealed himself to the Jews in the Law and the Prophets, which is not the case with the Samaritans and other Gentiles. The deeper meaning is that Jews who truly believe the word of God have knowledge of God, which makes God present to them. From the real presence of God among the Jews who live by faith, the Word will take flesh and give fullness of salvation to the Jews, and then to the Gentiles. For as the psalmist says, the name of God is great in all the earth.

The Jews who believe in the word of God are the true Jews who mediate salvation to the whole world. But those who refuse to believe or yield their minds and hearts to the truth crucified the Son of Man, thereby bringing salvation to the whole world in an ironic sense. These belong to the group of Judas Iscariot, who, preferring their interests to divine truth and interest, brought about the death of the Son of Man, which unleashed salvation on the world. Saint Peter was clear in his accusation of the Jews in the Temple after the miraculous cure of the cripple. “You are Israelites, and it is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, who has glorified his servant Jesus, the same Jesus you handed over and then disowned in the presence of Pilate after Pilate had decided to release him. It was you who accused the Holy One, you who demanded the reprieve of a murderer while you killed the prince of life.” In this understanding of Jesus Christ as the Prince of life, we see that we are all involved in the betrayal of the Son of Man. Even Peter himself was not free of guilt for the death of Jesus. We betray him whenever we fail to stand for the truth, for life, and what is truly good. Peter beckons all to repentance, saying: “Now I know, brothers, that neither you nor your leaders had any idea what you were really doing; this was the way God carried out what he had foretold, when he said through all his prophets that his Christ would suffer.”

Our Risen Lord himself addresses us on our guilty feelings, coming from lack of steadfastness in our faith, worship of God, and dealings with one another. He bids us to cease our agitations and believe. “They were still talking all this when Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you!’ In a state of alarm and fright, they thought they were seeing a ghost. But he said, ‘Why are you so agitated, and why are these doubts rising in your hearts? Look at my hands and feet; yes, it is I indeed.” The Risen Lord comes to the disciples in the physical form of flesh and blood to establish their faith in the mystical form or real presence he will be assuming subsequently. He did this because of the difficulty involved in transitioning from the senses to faith. It is impossible for human effort without divine aid. Though he showed them physical signs and forms, the peace and joy in their minds and hearts were caused by his real presence. “Their joy was so great that they still could not believe it, and they stood there dumbfounded.” So, the two types of Jews are all within each of us. By our unbelieving Jew-ness we reject, betray, and kill the truth of God, and by our faithful Jew-ness we receive and incarnate the truth of God. It is all written in the Scriptures. “So you see how it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that, in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this.” We witness our betrayal and his death, his resurrection, and his real presence.

Let us pray: O God, who have united the many nations in confessing your name, grant that those reborn in the font of Baptism may be one in the faith of their hearts and the homage of their deeds. 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.