The legacy of Easter

The legacy of Easter

The continuity of the Easter spirit has to be expressed in our broken lives which find healing and strength in the risen Christ. Our faith in the resurrection of Christ transforms our lives. It gives meaning to our human brokenness.

We believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and is living among us. It is the faith of our parents, our grandparents. This faith has been handed down from one generation to the next by people who have been formed and transformed by that faith. Even if we are newly baptized and have studied Scripture and Church teaching recently, our faith is based on the witness of believers. We have seen the faith of other Christians. Because of others, we have faith.

Our parish community becomes a vessel, as it were, in handling down our faith to our world and to the next generations. Our faith community becomes an open book which others read to know and understand our faith. We witness to the faith through the Christian values that guide our lives. We become examples for others to imitate. Like the early Christians who began to form communities to support one another, we as a faith community have to strengthen our relationships with one another in relation to the faith we profess in Jesus Christ.

The apostles, including Thomas the doubter, all witnessed to Christ’s resurrection. They all underwent persecution, suffering and even death to proclaim this Easter mystery to the world. As the gospel asserts: “These are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” Tradition is the handing on of this first-hand witness of those who saw it from the beginning to all of us who believe. And we are happy and blessed even if we have not seen, yet believe. Our faith is based on witnesses. We cry out with Thomas, “My Lord and my God!”

In today’s gospel, Christ’s act of breathing on his disciples was realizing what he meant by “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The transmission of the legacy of the resurrection we celebrate this Easter season involves the breathing of our spiritual life we live. The values of our Christian life are transmitted through the breathing of the spirit of our life and experiences, we will be judged according to how we have shared our values and virtues with others through our relationships. The values we share are what constitute the real legacy of our Christian faith