The Gospel of John, chapter 11:25-26

A short time ago, the news media focused on a group of miners in Chile who were trapped in the bowels of the earth. Day after day, rescue workers tunneled into the hard rock to find a way to save these miners. For days, the world waited and prayed that they would be saved. They were. It was a grateful moment to think about life and what it is to be without it.

The miners’ story in Chile was like the resurrection in a way. It seemed that they would not survive; that they would be buried deep in the earth and that no power could liberate them. It also appeared that Jesus would live no longer for He, too, was buried deep within the earth and it seemed no power could liberate Him. Suddenly, death was overcome; life began once more because Jesus rose from the tomb.

Have you ever had an experience that completely overwhelmed you, the kind that leaves you limp and exhausted afterwards? It may have been the first time you realized you were in love, or the day you narrowly escaped death or the day your first child was born. The most extraordinary days of our lives remain with us forever. Time and distance does not dim them. In fact, as we reflect on them, they seem even more important than at the moment they happened.

That’s the way it is with the resurrection. When the apostles first realized Jesus was alive, they did not know what to do, what to say, or what to think. Over time the meaning became clearer; He is risen!

The excitement of the first witnesses to the resurrection lives on in Christians today. We are able to proclaim: “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.” The resurrection is a matter of faith. Without faith, it sounds absurd and foolish. With faith, it becomes the most important fact in human history, for it is a harbinger of the future of all humankind. Words fail us; so we cry out, “Alleluia.” This unique word is an expression on the human personality, body and soul. Alleluia is such a word that it comes from the depths of our souls, from the roots of our faith. It is a cry of joy, literally.

Like Jesus, we will live with the Father now and for all ages yet to come. That is the incredible message of the resurrection.

Jesus tells us that He is the resurrection and the life for whoever believes in Him “will never die.”

Fr. Hugh Duffy