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The Father
Speaks
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 FAITH
IN THE RISEN CHRIST
- By Fr. Siegfried
Binzler, SJ
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"Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again".
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Easter need not happen just once a year. Every time
we gather to worship, we declare Christ's Easter victory. And
there may be some very personal Easters in our lives - those
momentous victories and decisive changes we choose to make
along the way. And there are the many small victories of
Christ's life in us - even the daily declarations of
resurrection in our lives, keeping us in the paths of truth
and sincerity.
Christ died and was buried – no one doubts that. But many
doubt that He was raised up and left death behind. One reason
why is, the poor witness we give of the risen life. To give in
and fall in line with the evil we perceive in the world is to
live in the tomb, to live with death. To live any part of our
life on the other side of Easter is to give up the struggle
between life and death. To accept the joy of Easter is to
accept the invitation to new life, and to overcome the powers
that threaten to demean us.
On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the
tomb and found the stone, which was across the entry, rolled
away. Fearful of mischief, she ran to tell Simon and John,
who came running. John outran Simon Peter, but the younger man
only peered in. Impetuous Peter rushed in, and observed the
linens set aside and the tomb empty. But this is only the
beginning of his Easter experience of the living Christ - an
encounter would happen to Peter later.
The forgiveness in Christ, which Peter preached is still
offered today. And the purified life, which Paul called the
unleavened bread of sincerity and truth is still the life to
which we are called. And this day is the new beginning of the
resurrected life with Christ - when we declare ourselves free
from whatever slavery tries to bind us or whatever tomb
threatens to hold us. Christ is alive! For the apostles to
believe meant that they experience Jesus among them. He is
alive! They met Him. He offered them peace. He ate with them.
He taught them. He gave them a task. The apostles experienced
His friendship with them. They were no longer mourning; they
did no longer bother about His tomb. They had received Jesus'
own power. They knew that the Spirit of Jesus was in them,
most obvious, when they gathered in His name. This meant
faith for them: a communion with Jesus, though not seeing Him
with their eyes. This shaped their whole life. It gave them
the strength to witness without fear. By meeting the sick
people, also during persecution, even confronting death.
This was their meaning of faith.
We, who received their witness, were touched, too, by other
witnesses of Christ, by other Catholics, till we reached the
moment where we professed faith ourselves. In the beginning,
not yet distinct, but in the course of our life, becoming more
and more clear. And from the friendship with Christ, we could
see the world in a different way. Life becomes meaningful. We
become aware that to love is better than to hate, to trust is
better than to be suspicious. That it is better to help than
to torture. It is better to encourage others than to break
their hopes. And there arises joy that God has forgiven us,
that He has bestowed peace to us. So, faith became the source
of promise, of protection, of peace of heart, joy and freedom.
Saint Thomas said that he did not believe. He wanted to see
for himself the wounds of Jesus. For Thomas, it meant that
somebody who has wounds is truly alive. Only when he saw the
wounds of Jesus did he believe. Is it not true with us, too?
We hear the Gospel reading about Thomas every year, in order
that we may discover ourselves in Thomas' attitude. And that
we, too, come to the confession: “My Lord and my God!” Faith
is not the image we make of others, of the world, of God.
Faith is the deep conviction that Christ is beside us.
Everyone experiences it in a quite personal way, and often
with a special stress. So, to deepen our faith means to know
the presence of Christ in all the ups and downs of daily life,
in all our hopes and disappointments, in our prayer and our
work. Such is faith.
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LIKE IT IS!
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This site has been awarded
IN THIS ISSUE:
HIS Servant
by Bro. Pete Lapid
The Father Speaks
By Fr. S. Binzler, SJ
The G Kidspace*
By Tintin Magbitang
Our Faith
By Fr. KJ Veeger, MSC
Place of Refuge
By Philip Yuson
Surabaya Corner
By Ramon Martillano
Community Life
By Pinky Torres
God Answers Prayers
By Beth Manibog
Reflection
By Fr. Agustinus Belo,
PR
Straight from the Heart
By Carolle Bautista
Compiled by Armand Sol
On Focus
By Sansu Garin
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