By William F. Holland Jr.
Throughout history, no one has made a greater impact on this earth than Jesus Christ, yet many still do not understand who he is. During Christmas, people around the world acknowledge his birth was over 2000 years ago but actually he existed long before that.
As the Son of God, Jesus is the Alpha and Omega which means he is from the beginning and has no end. This truth of him being infinite is beyond our comprehension, but nonetheless this spiritual reality places him in a unique category all by himself.
Jesus said in John 8:58, âVerily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I amâ as he was trying to teach all who would listen that his virgin birth in Bethlehem, his ministry of miracles, and his death and ressurection was a carefully calculated mission to rescue and redeem all who would believe in his fatherâs plan of salvation.
So we have focused on Jesus, we have celebrated the empty tomb, and the question is, âNow What?â
1 John 2:6 states, âWhoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.â The beauty of Lent is that many of us have been focusing on Jesus. That will be of great help as we live as âEaster People.â
What are âEaster People?â Well, this is the good stuff that should get us excited in life. Easter People believe in Jesus, have said yes and believe he came. Not only do we believe he came, we believe he was persecuted, died, was buried and rose from the dead. There is even more. We believe that he gifted us with the spirit, and we have an opportunity to share the good news. Many of you are reading this, and your heart just sank because you are convinced you cannot talk about faith or show your faith.
Frank Jeffries reminds me of Ronald Reagan. In a recent letter to the editor (March 31), Mr. Jeffries asked what would Jesus do about an apparent officiating error that enabled Lumen Christi to win a crucial boys’ basketball game en route to a state championship. His letter suggested Lumen Christi should have unilaterally reversed the call and asked officials to declare their opponents the winners. Not being Jesus, I don’t know what Jesus would do. I suspect he’d be more concerned with what he called the least of his people and less concerned with basketball. When Ronald Reagan was once asked about the federal government’s responsibility to care for poor people, the non-church-going president thought that was the responsibility of churches. I guess Reagan figured a churchgoer like me making six bucks per hour was more responsible to the poor than a multimillionaire like him.
Offering Mass at the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia April 11, the pope reflected on Jesus appearances to his disciples between his resurrection and his ascension, explaining that the disciples received the mercy of Jesus Christ through the gifts of his peace, forgiveness, and wounds. His wounds are open channels between him and us, shedding mercy upon our misery, Francis said. His wounds are the pathways that God has opened up for us to enter into his tender love and actually â€~touch who he is. Let us never again doubt his mercy. In adoring and kissing his wounds, we come to realize that in his tender love all our weaknesses are accepted, the pope continued. This happens at every Mass, where Jesus offers us his wounded and risen Body. We touch him and he touches our lives. He makes heaven come down to us. His radiant wounds dispel the darkness we carry within.
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