IT CHANGED EVERYTHING
Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Colossians 3:1-4 or 1 Corinthians 5:6b-8; John 20:1-9
Origins: The Journey of Humankind showcases the major discoveries and events that have changed us. Each episode in the eight-part series features one factor that transformed human civilization: fire, medicine, money, communication, war, shelter, exploration, and transportation. The first episode Spark of Civilization avers that the discovery of fire led to countless more milestones. The ability to harness and control fire gave humans the power to create, transform, and destroy; transformed us from nomadic tribes to a species which can undertake space voyages. It changed everything.
The series does not feature one important event: Jesus’ Resurrection! The Resurrection changed everything!
If Jesus had stayed dead, nobody would have given his crucifixion any significance. There were several revolutionaries who ended up on Roman crosses; Jesus would have been yet another failed revolutionary. Jesus’ crucifixion has significance because he is risen.
Further, all that was obscure about his life, teaching, works, identity became clear. Jesus told his disciples: “You do not understand now but later you will understand.” That “later” is after the Resurrection.
The Resurrection marks the launch of God’s kingdom on earth: he has defeated the powers of evil and oppression; an oppressed people are free to live a new life.
It changes the physical world: death no longer has the last word. Since Christ has been raised, we can tell those looking into the casket of their loved ones that this is not the end of the story.
It changes the moral world: a wandering preacher, labelled a heretic and criminal, is the one through whom God speaks to us and through whom God makes all things new.
It changed the disciples’ understanding of Jesus: they will affirm him as Lord and God.
It changed their attitude and behaviour: timid and afraid earlier, they became bold and full of joy. In the words of Paul in the Second Reading, they became “a fresh batch of dough”: a small group of frightened people will multiply such that one out of every three people on the planet identify themselves as Christian.
The Resurrection changed everything. Has it changed me, my life, my ethics, my perspective? If not, why not?
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