Word to the Wise
Monday, April 9, 2012 - Octave of Easter - Mon
[Acts 2:14, 22-33 and Matt 28:8-15]God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses. Exalted at the right hand of God, he poured forth the promise of the Holy Spirit that he received from the Father, as you both see and hear.
It is Easter Monday. Life in the secular world goes on. Perhaps at work or on the phone or internet we'll share responses to the standard question, "How was your Easter?" We may respond with comments about visiting relatives or what happened with the Easter egg hunt, etc., but I rather doubt we'll say, "Christ is risen! Alleluia!" In countries where the Eastern tradition of Catholicism or Orthodoxy is strong, those words are their way of saying, "Happy Easter!" The message is a simple one with profound implications! The earliest preaching of the church, represented in St. Paul's letters and in the Acts of the Apostles, insist on that message. The term used by scripture scholars is kerygma, a Greek term meaning "proclamation."
In the brief quotation from Peter's speech at Pentecost, we really have the whole picture. Christ is risen. We are witnesses. The Holy Spirit sends us forth. Anyone can see and hear this. But will they unless we proclaim it? The political world may offer us some advice: "Stay on message! Say it over and over again." Easter cannot simply be an annual holiday! St. Paul says it well: "If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all!" (1 Cor. 15:19) If we have to choose any message to "pass on to our friends," the Easter message is the one to send. Nothing else comes close: "Christ is risen! Alleluia!" AMEN