Joy in the Resurrection
3rd Sunday of Easter
Today we will continue to live in this mode of presence of the Risen Jesus in his community, which is a real novelty and is the chief characteristic of the Christian faith. In the first reading courage of Peter to preach the forgiveness of sins and a call to repentance recognizes that the Israelites have killed Christ out of ignorance, but that God fulfilled his plans of salvation in this way. Therefore, repent and convert your lives, so that your sins will be forgiven. But that is not enough, for we must have the attitude of sincerity to recognize that our sins have caused the death of Christ. We must be humble enough to recognize our sins and ask for forgiveness. We must be courageous to confess that Christ is risen. In the second reading St. John reminds us that Christ has been victorious over our sin. He forgives us with his death and resurrection and continues to intercede with us before the Father.
In the Gospel today, Christ gives us words full of hope and confidence and invites us not to be Christ is in our midst because he has risen and continues to be present amongst us in the Eucharist. He is present in his body, his blood, soul and divinity. We contemplate him truly present under the sacramental species. Jesus finds his disciples in prayer and returns their confidence anew and grants them peace. There is no fear. He is amongst them to eat fish, to converse, to attend to their problems, to work together, to explain his mission to them. From this experience there surges that characteristic of a community that is truly Christian: joy. A joy that is truly possible only if it relies on the trust and the interior peace and the gentle relationship of the people of God.
With the resurrection Christ has conquered death. He did not dwell in the dark power at all. Today the Church invites us to fight with force against that “culture of death” which seeks to take power over our society. Lord Jesus, strengthen us to live an existence against the many forms of slavery of death amongst us.