Peace and Joy of the Risen Lord!
Dear beloved Rev. Fathers, Sisters, Brothers & Lay Faithful,
Peace & Joy of the Risen Lord!
Amidst the problems we face due to Covid-19, the Pandemic which continues to remind all of us that life is uncertain & fragile, and has brought global suffering & death over the past many months, Christians eagerly anticipated Easter Sunday with its promise of new life. Even though today hopelessness &despire are everywhere, our Risen Lord who is our hope & life helps us to gain new experience in this pandemic situation to swim across the current breaking the barriers with a positive approach and our faith in Him makes us to enjoy the warmth of His love, care, protection & providence.
As the human organism is dependent on a supply of oxygen to function properly, so humanity is dependent on hope to march ahead successfully. Our hope, in the spiritual sense, is not in our own ability, or in our goodness, or in our physical strength but is instilled in us by the resurrection of Christ. The Holy Bible is filled with examples and promises of hope and new life.
Jesus' resurrection is not reserved for a single Sunday. Easter Sunday may pass, but the hope of resurrection is new every morning because Jesus physically rises from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus is one of the central mysteries of the Christian faith. If Christ had not risen from the dead, the whole fabric of the Christian faith would fall and crumble down. The apostle St. Paul tells us, "If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. (I Cor15: 13,14)." In other words, if there isn’t any resurrection our faith is meaningless. If Christianity is simply about the physical life and then we die to never exist again, then it really doesn’t matter what we do or how we live or what we believe. But there is a resurrection not only for Christ but also for us, and this is an important part of Christian faith. The death and the resurrection of Christ is the foundation of the Christian faith. Our present justification and our future glorification hinges upon this Paschal Mystery.
No one had won against death. But in Jesus, death met its match. He had destroyed it and from the carcass of death, Jesus offers us a new life. St. Paul in his letter to the Romans (6:4) said, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Our life extends beyond the grave. Jesus took up the cross and gave Himself on Calvary to give us new hope and new life -new life on this earth and in the life to come.
The disciples after the resurrection of Jesus began a new life - a life, where their sins were blotted out, and a new life in the spirit they began. Our sins are washed clean by the blood of Jesus and we too are called to begin a new life, in the friendship and the fellowship of Christ.
St. Paul said, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” May our confession that Lord Jesus is risen from the dead grant us peace, joy and a share in His eternal life.
Yours devotedly in Our Lord,
+ Most.Rev. S. Antonysamy
Bishop of Palayamkottai