New Life
The uniqueness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is that nothing and nobody raised Him. It is different than that of the daughter of Jairus, or of Lazzarus. These were raised, they were raised by Jesus. Now we understand why He had the power to raise people from death. He did it, and He can do it, because He has authority over death; He could raise even Himself from death. There has been some other people, saints, who have raised people from death. However, they did it only in the Name of Jesus Christ.
Man has a great power of self determination. Sometimes you meet people who were able to change some aspect of their life just by the power of their will. The took a strong decision and were determined to hold to it no matter the cost. Very often, people who live in misery, in poverty, with low self esteem and insecurity, are unaware of the power of their will, they do not trust their will power, they even doubt their will for change and a new life.
However, there is another type of new life which no human will power is capable to make one leap into it. It is the new life of a “dead” human being. When a human being is dead, even his very will power is flat, a corpse has absolutely no will power whatsoever. Does it mean there is no hope of new life for him, of any resurrection? No. For those who have faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Master over all evil and destruction, over sin and death, there is a hope that goes beyond all hope.
But we are not speaking just of physically dead people. We are speaking also of spiritually and psychologically dead human beings. Yes, Jesus gives hope to those who have no hope, to those to whom humanity, with all its wisdom and science, does not only offer them any hope, but has lost all hope in them.
There is a New Life that can only be received gratuitously. There is a New Life that only Jesus Christ can give. There is a hope precisely for the time when there is no (human or scientific) hope. Confronted with the darkness that had started to overcome humanity in the midst of last century, a darkness that reached its peak with the culture of death rebuked by Pope John Paul II but still dominates humanity at the beginning of the third millennium, Pope Paul VI felt the need of reminding Christians that: “We are an Easter People”. Following this affirmation, Pope Paul VI became the prophet of hope. We, who believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, are an Easter People. Even in our struggles, in our sufferings and in our death, physical, spiritual or psychological, we are to witness for this Hope and for this Joy. Otherwise we betray our faith!
But how can we do that? How can we look at our bodies, growing old and slowly slowly dominated by decay, and hope in new life? How can we experience suffering, especially psychological breakdown, and still hope for new life? Well, this we can understand. Hope is the last thing that dies in man. Until there is the spark of hope still alive, then it is ok: we can wait patiently and trust in God who is Rich in Mercy. Yet, even this hope, this expectant faith and trust in the Living God, is itself a gift freely given through Jesus Christ.
St Augustine taught us that the very desire for God, for New Life, is already in itself a grace from God, a sign of His presence and communion. The resurrection of Jesus Christ goes beyond that. Jesus offers New Life to those who do not even possess this desire; to those in whom all desire for New Life has long been dead! When you desire something, you have some vague idea what you are aspiring for. But how can you desire something that you have no clue of? When you are spiritually and psychologically dead: there is hope for you… in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
