Easter

The Greatest of all realities: the resurrection of Our Lord
 
In my earlier years, I presumed, incorrectly, that there was a general understanding on the part of most Christians that Jesus, having been crucified and died on Calvary, rose from the dead. This is what we celebrate at Easter. In reality, a number of Christians, and certainly the vast majority of those who are not Christian, do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus.  
 
It is important that we, as believing Christians, examine critically our belief in this truth. The four Gospels of the New Testament not only proclaim that Jesus rose from the tomb, quite alive after having been dead for three days, but they are directed toward this belief as the goal and apex of each book.  
 
In addition to these testimonies of the four evangelists, all of which were written within a generation of the event itself, we also have a stirring testimony from St. Paul. 
 
In reading his New Testament letters, we can easily argue that the central point of his writings is the 15 ^th chapter of his First Letter to the Corinthians. Here he describes in triumphant terms the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Again, like the four Gospel accounts, this was written when people were still living who could have remembered the events in the life of Jesus. This would be particularly true of his resurrection.  If his deceased body would have been available, they would have found it and publicized this discovery. It did not happen.
 
The rapid spread of the Christian religion was based largely upon the general acceptance of the Resurrection. Even though this new religion was separated from its Jewish origins and was considered treason against the Roman Empire, it continued to gain the allegiance of many from Britain to Southern India, from North Africa to the German tribes.  
 
Had Jesus not risen from the tomb, such spread would have been senseless. Its wide acceptance would have been an impossibility in virtue of early and strong opposition to this Christian belief on the part of the Jewish people who did not accept Jesus, and the Roman Empire, which saw his followers as a menace to imperial rule.  
 
In both the Gospels and the Letters of St. Paul, which we read in these days of Easter celebration, we find that the resurrection of Jesus was not only his personal victory over death. The early Church taught that through the sacraments, especially baptism, the Christian believer shared in the resurrection and eternal life of Jesus. We repeat this in the Creed each Sunday, a day to celebrate this resurrection, when we profess belief in our own resurrection.  
 
This belief is pointed out not only in the New Testament books and the faith of thousands of converts, many of whom died as martyrs for this very truth, but also in early Christian art.  
 
The very early Christians were not known for their artistic achievements as they were trying to survive severe persecutions and prejudice.  But, after the Emperor Constantine recognized the Christian Church as a legal religion and ended the persecutions, Christian art began to appear.  
 
Even before Constantine, there was informal art in Christian homes and places of prayer as in the Roman catacombs. But also, in the early fifth century, from around 420 AD onward, there are significant pieces of such art. These were found in mosaics and in Christian tombs.  
 
Typically, they represent Jesus coming out of his tomb, or just having done so, surrounded by Old Testament figures such as David and Solomon, angels and New Testament figures such as John the Baptist.
 
In many of these early examples of Christian art, Jesus is portrayed as placing his foot upon Hades, a symbol of death, and bringing Adam and Eve out of their tombs. These portrayals were based upon the Old Testament Book of Genesis and the teachings of St. Paul. 
 
Today, Easter is a unique holiday for followers of Jesus to celebrate. The resurrection of Our Lord is not myth or fantasy, but the greatest of all realities. 
 
JOYFUL EASTER TO ALL!
 
Msgr. John Duncan has been a priest of the Lafayette diocese for more than 58 years.