He is risen! Have you?

Happy Easter! The beauty of Easter is that the celebration last for eight days- today is the last day of the octave of Easter. So the church celebration is over but is it? Think about it for a moment. The resurrection of Jesus Christ changed the world. Is it really just celebrated for eight days?

This year, I did attend the Easter Triduum. The services on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil are all linked, leading you to the big event- the resurrection. What struck me in the the past few weeks leading up to Easter is how much it mirrors our human experience.

We get hints of what is going to happen when Lazarus is raised from the dead. I thought a lot about this – I can see it as a metaphor for life. Sometimes we are in a really dark place due to life circumstances. Believe me, I’ve been there. What changes the circumstance is the faith of Martha and Mary in Jesus. They believe he can change it and he does. Notice though, it was on his timeline. He didn’t rush back at the news Lazarus died, he waited three days. Have you ever had faith in the dark times that your circumstances could change?

Holy Thursday and the recreation of Jesus washing the apostles feet is a model of how we are to serve others. Jesus became the servant in the situation to show the apostles how to serve. In his time, the priests had money and great power- the apostles had neither money nor great power, what they had was way more valuable, they had Jesus as a model of how to live and treat others. They had the power to heal. We also have this power within us. I may not have the power to heal someone from physical aliments, but I can help heal a soul.

The Easter vigil is always long but rewarding. The first hour of it are in the dark because we are moving from the darkness of the tomb to the light of Christ. People are baptized and confirmed. It’s quite moving to see the joy on their faces. When I finally emerge from church on that Saturday night, I feel like Easter has come.

In my reflection this year, I can see that we are always celebrating the resurrection. We are also cycling through the dark times balanced by the light. The common thread is that the light is always coming. Jesus is a constant light for my way. When in a moment of darkness, I know something better is coming. Jesus didn’t leave me. He came to save me (and you).

In this season of Easter take some time to think about what the resurrection means in your life and where you may need to “rise” to the occasion in front of you.