Finding the risen Christ in and around us
drchris April 16th, 2007
He rose from the dead, lives in our midst, never die again.
A lawyer friend, a staunch catholic for many years, wanted proof for the resurrection of Christ. He subsequently left the Church as he could not be convinced of the truth of the resurrection. In fact the number of Catholics who “lose their faith” for these reasons is on their rise. What they have believed all these years out of faith does not seem logical to their mind anymore. Today man has so advanced in science and technology that he insists on evidence before he accepts anything as the truth, especially those that are supernatural in nature.
Gone are the days when he is willing to accept anything based just on faith and tradition? God’s gift to man – his inquisitive and intellectual mind had brought him great advancements to the whole human race but many a time it also worked to his detriment when he misuses it for his selfish needs.
The Resurrection, as we were taught, is Jesus Christ’s return to life on the third day after his death. To my mind there are two aspects to this resurrection, physical and spiritual. The problem is that from an early age we have been taught to believe that resurrection is just the bodily rising of Jesus after death. The image of Jesus majestically rising bodily into the heavens had been vividly imprinted in our minds since we were children. We have been carried away by the over-emphasis on these physical aspects of the Resurrection. Our ideas of resurrection should instead mature when we grow older in wisdom with Christ.
There is no way we can prove the physical resurrection of Jesus. We have to accept that from the teachings of the Church which is inherited from the apostles and to me that is the least important. In fact there are those bent on proving the resurrection wrong as postulated by new discoveries described in “The Lost Tomb of Jesus”.
On the other hand we can definitely beyond doubt testify the spiritual resurrection of Jesus. Yes, he died but yet we know for sure he is alive and present in our midst. We witness his presence daily in our lives. He is there in all the people we meet and all the problems we encounter.
Very often we either do not recognize or we are too arrogant to ignore his presence in our midst. We expect Him to work miracles to help us overcome our difficulties and we become disappointed and disillusioned when he doesn’t. As a result we lose our faith in him. Little do we realize that we are his “miracle workers” among men.
It is the experience of unselfish love for one another that resembles the mystery of the Resurrection of Christ.It is something that is beyond reason, beyond replication, beyond scientific fact? It is in this love that the risen Christ dwells and if we cultivate this love for one another in our hearts then His resurrection is true which needs no human proof.
Yes truly He has risen from the dead, lives in our midst, and never to die again.
Dr.Chris Anthony
