This is the night
when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death and rose triumphant from the grave.
Exultet, Easter
Proclamation
Did the Resurrection of Jesus really happen? And does it
really matter? Paul believes our faith itself hinges on the Resurrection,
saying, “…if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in
your sin.” (1 Cor 15:17). But why should it matter what the details are, as
long as we all love God?
Recently, a movie called “The Shack” was released. Many
people, Catholics among them, were touched by the message of God’s mercy,
central to the movie’s theme. The story focused strongly on forgiveness without
speaking much of repentance, and presented an innovative version of God,
without regard to the “limitations” of scripture or religion.
But what we believe about God the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit is not negotiable. Christian beliefs about God are fully revealed in
scripture and Church teachings. Our faith is based on a real person and actual
events, and on the authority of the Church. Scripture tells us this: "For
God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, so that everyone who
believes in Him might not perish, but might have eternal life." Jesus is
God, but Jesus also came to us as a man. This was necessary because the Father,
who is pure spirit, could not die, so He sent Jesus, God Incarnate, to die for
us. Was Jesus really God? He made such shocking claims about Himself and God
the Father that He was condemned to death for blasphemy. He is God, the Son.
But if God the Father (or mother, according to The Shack, which presents God as
a woman called Papa) was crucified, then why was it necessary for Jesus to
become man at all? If our understanding of God is that far off, then maybe the
Resurrection is merely a human construction as well.
Jesus did not want us to doubt, but to believe. Jesus
permitted Thomas to touch His wounds, still gaping open in His resurrected
body, to give us scriptural evidence. He left other evidence of His
Resurrection also, some of which can still be viewed and investigated. One such
miraculous piece of evidence is the Shroud of Turin. Modern scientific
investigations continue to point to the authenticity of this amazing shroud.
Another movie was just released called “The Case for
Christ.” It is the true story of an agnostic reporter who becomes a Christian
after investigating the evidence for Christ’s life, death, and Resurrection,
including the Shroud. This mainstream Protestant movie may be the first to make
the Shroud’s story known to Christians outside the Catholic world. May God's
gift of the Shroud and the testimony of this once-doubting reporter bring many
other "doubters" to fall to their knees, declaring as Thomas did,
"My Lord and My God!"
Christ indeed from
death is risen, our new life obtaining.
Have mercy, victor
King, ever reigning!
Amen. Alleluia.
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