The Light reveals the Life

On Good Friday, the text of the Passion according to St. John told us of Pilate’s struggle to determine the Truth. In the Gospel of John, Jesus presents Himself as the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). The texts of the Roman Catholic Lectionary for the Mass during the day on Easter shed light on the Truth. Peter, in the Book of Acts, recounts his experience of Jesus and how Peter had come to see that Jesus was the Anointed One of God who did the Father’s work of healing and forgiving in Judea and Jerusalem. Peter saw that he was put to death by the religious authorities and that He rose from the dead to be seen and minister to His followers. The praises of the psalmist declare that God maintains the life of the faithful. The rejection of the faithful is redeemed as the “(Psalm 118:22) The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone”. Paul appeals to those who have experience the Truth of Jesus to live with minds set on the things of heaven and to avoid being enslaved by the things of the earth. Christ is living within and this Truth should be seen in the lives of believers. The revelation of our intimate relationship with the Living God frequently comes through experience of great love and/or great suffering. This is written in the works of Fr. Richard Rohr. The Gospel of John tells of Mary Magdalene who goes and is witness to the empty tomb. She lived as one who knows Jesus as the embodiment of intimate love and forgiveness and the One who “gave up His Spirit” on the cross. In the Light of the New Day she is reassured through seeing that the ‘Rabbouni’ lives and will be present to her, the disciples and humanity . The experience of a loving relationship with the Living Christ is for people necessarily one of the senses. We hear the Good News. We taste and see the goodness of the Lord. We proclaim today and everyday “Jesus lives!”