By Bishop Gerard Holohan
I am always excited by Easter as I reflect again on its basic lessons for my life – and yours. For example:
- Jesus is alive and present with me every moment of my life, as He is within all the baptised who believe
- Jesus shared with me His divine nature through my Baptism, as He did with you, and so, within us, is the divine or ‘eternal’ life Jesus promised, the ‘life’ which, if nurtured in the ways Jesus taught, moves to love and live increasingly as He did for it is stronger than self-centredness
- Jesus, by the power of His Resurrection, guides and strengthens you and me in our life challenges, temptations, troubling questions and difficulties
- Jesus, to the extent that we relate personally with Him, encourages you and me in times of disappointment; consoles in times of sorrow; gives peace in times of turmoil and stress; heals in times of hurt; and forgives as we repent our sins.
These are examples, too, of Jesus as the face of God’s mercy, for neither you nor I are more entitled to these experiences than anyone else. And, as I reflect on my own failures to live as Jesus taught, I am moved even more by this mercy.
These are some examples of the experiences which made St Paul write that nothing in this life compares with coming ‘to know Christ and the power of His Resurrection’ [Philippians 3:10]. They are experiences Jesus wanted for all. For this reason, He instituted the sacraments so future generations across the world could draw on experiences of Jesus’ power for their daily lives.
For me, however, the excitement of Easter is tempered by signs that perhaps the majority of Western Australians today do not believe in the means Jesus gave for His followers to seek from Him such experiences. This is not to criticise, because many simply know little about Christ through no fault of their own. However, there are consequences for their lives.
Some consequences
I am saddened whenever I see people suffering of not knowing Christ or the power of His Resurrection. Many, for example, are deprived of the healing of Jesus, and so their hurts fester – sometimes to the point of them becoming the root cause of increasingly angry personalities. The anger resulting from festering hurts can lead also to negative attitudes towards life, and even destroy marriages and family relationships, as well as friendships.
Others suffer crippling experiences such as low self-esteem. I am saddened by young people who cannot recognise love, goodness or personal skills in themselves and so lack a sound foundation for finding direction for their lives.
Many, too, lack self-insight and so lack the growing wisdom needed for nourishing relationships. Self-knowledge is needed for selfless love, which is commitment to the good of another – and self-giving requires self-knowledge of the personal gifts we can give to others [eg: John 15:13-14].
It is tragic when married couples separate, parents are unable to provide adequately for the important needs of their children, and friends drift apart when the needs of one become demanding. Often, these tragedies could be avoided if those involved could seek the guidance and power of Christ by drawing on the means He left His followers for this purpose.
And who cannot be moved by those afflicted by addictions – and the suffering of their parents and families. Drugs, pornography, alcoholism and gambling are all rooted in lack of inner peace which needs to be assuaged. Those so afflicted ultimately lack the inner peace and harmony which grow in those who share their troubles and deepest tensions with Jesus.
Our Easter mission of mercy
No doubt we can all think of other consequences in the lives of those who, because they do not really know Him, cannot turn to Jesus with their needs. Christians who are maturing in the mercy of Jesus are moved to wonder how to help the troubled, especially loved ones – spouses, family members and friends – come to know Him and the power of His Resurrection.
What are some practical steps they might take? Before offering a few examples, we need to remember some basic foundations.
They share the divine life
When we say Jesus shares His divine nature through Baptism, this means that He, with the Father and the Spirit, are present within the baptised – even if they know little of Christ [John 14:17, 23]. They may be our children, grandchildren, other family members or friends who have given up the practice of the faith.
Whatever the reason, it is important to remember that God, particularly the Holy Spirit, is calling them into relationship by stirring yearnings and questions in their hearts which God alone can satisfy through Jesus. The yearnings may be those for deeper love, inner peace, change for the better or freedom from guilt. The questions may include those related to who they really are; the purpose of their lives; the secret to good relationships; the reasons for tragedies; and the meaning of life and its direction.
Christ is present, too, in you
In times when we are concerned because we don’t know what to do for those we care about who do not seek Christ, we need to remember the challenge of St Paul to the Christians in Corinth: ‘Do you not recognise yourselves as people in whom Jesus Christ is present?’ [2 Corinthians 13:5].
All of us need to remember that Jesus seeks to work through us for ‘we are ambassadors for Christ’ [2 Corinthians 5:20]. Jesus shares the Holy Spirit with us and it is the Spirit who stirs us to respond to the faith needs of loved ones who are suffering in ways Jesus can conquer.
Christian witness
Personal Christian witness is the essential foundation for any effort to lead others to Jesus. As we give witness, we make Jesus present to others. He seeks through us to touch their hearts.
Some imagine Christian witness to be good example, and that even unbaptised people can give witness.
However, in fact, Christian witness is behaviour which expresses our personal relationship as baptised people with Jesus. It keeps striving to live Jesus’ teachings, for He taught that striving to keep His commandments is the proof of a personal relationship with Himself [John 14:21].
This is why only a Christian can give witness. And, even if a person is baptised and a model of goodness, there can be no witness without a personal relationship with Jesus.
The most important Christian witness is the self-sacrificing love commanded by Jesus. After other teachings about the Old Testament laws of love, Jesus taught [John 15: 12-14]
This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you. No one can have greater love than to lay down their life for their friend.
Self-sacrificing love gives without counting the cost, even to those who take us for granted. It is always forgiving, patient, kind and never seeks its own advantage [1 Corinthians 13:4-5]. Through this love, the Spirit opens people’s hearts to the teachings of Jesus.
Of course, depending on the person, the seeds planted by Christian witness may take decades to grow. Many never see the fruit of their witness: others do, perhaps after decades.
Tell them about Jesus’ desire to help
Christian witness often leads those not seeking Jesus or His power to share their personal problems and questions with a believer. The problems and questions often are symptoms of their human heart yearnings, and questions which have been stirred by the Spirit.
The first lesson those not relating with Jesus need to hear is that He wants to help them in their need. He wants them to express whatever troubles them in daily prayer.
This is not simply a matter of simply naming the issues, but of sharing as well their feelings and the other ways their needs are affecting their lives. It does not matter if a problem is the result of some personal foolishness.
In practice, before we try to share about Jesus, we need to really listen carefully to the person to whom we are giving witness. They need to feel that we really understand their hurt or other struggles. The other person will not be open to hearing from us about Jesus and His desire to help them until they feel fully heard by us.
Once they feel fully heard, they will be more open to hearing how Jesus seeks to help them with His power – to heal their life hurts; to free them from crippling attitudes and other influences; to rid them of temptations and sin; to replace guilt with peace – and many other Gospel examples.
Share with them how to seek Jesus’ power today
Once they have understood Jesus’ desire to help them with His power, we need to help those we care about to appreciate the ways they can seek Him today, just as did people in the Gospels. The principal ways Jesus taught are the sacraments, the most important of which is the Eucharist and daily prayer.
Through the seven sacraments, we can seek different experiences and His power for different life needs.
To repent and believe
To experience His power, Jesus taught that we need first to repent of ways we are breaking God’s laws, and then to believe He will help us to change. So, if we feel unable to forgive someone, for example, we need to ask Jesus for His help each time we meet them. Over time, Christ-like forgiveness will grow as the divine life grows in our hearts.
Those we care about need to realise that, as we repent and believe, we are empowered increasingly by Jesus to live His teachings.
Easter resolution
To sum up these ideas: let us recognise our mission from Christ to bring others to Him. Let us remember that
- the Spirit is working in them
- Jesus seeks to reach them through us
- the essential foundation for leading them to Jesus is Christian witness
- we need first to help them realise that Jesus seeks to help them with their needs
- they need to realise that Jesus gave us the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and prayer, as the main means for drawing on His power
- to experience Jesus and his power, they need to repent and believe – or strive with His power to change the ways he taught.
Let us all reflect on our own personal life experiences of Jesus this Easter, and celebrate them with thanks. And let us pray to grow in the mercy Jesus showed so that we may help others to experience Him and the power of His Resurrection as we do.
There are no more effective ways for us to grow in Easter joy. Happy Easter!