Jesus has truly risen

Pope Benedict XVI said: ‘Prayer is not an option. It is a matter of life and death. Only those who pray can enter into eternal life.’ Prayer, therefore, is not merely an activity; otherwise, it becomes fruitless because of routine. What brings prayer to life is the fact that we are speaking to a person. Christ is risen. Alleluia. Prayer is not primarily a matter of reflection. Nor do we speak into a void. Those who pray are speaking to a person who exists, even if we cannot see them. In prayer, I must realise that Jesus is present wherever I am. What a joy it is to be in the presence of Jesus! Jesus is alive! This is what Pope Paul VI urges when he says that the evangeliser must speak of God as if he were seeing the invisible.

Our faith is based on the resurrection of Christ. This is not merely a poem, but a reality. Jesus died and rose again. ‘If Christ has not been raised, our faith is in vain’ (1 Cor 15). ‘If you believe in the risen Christ, you will be saved’ (Romans 10:9). ‘If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved’. The celebration of Easter brings us face to face with a fundamental reality. Imagine Jesus, who performed so many miracles and healings; Jesus, who loved his disciples so deeply. That same Jesus is alive today. What a wonderful reality! It often fills me with great joy. When I face difficulties and feel anxious, it is sometimes because I have let myself be distracted and have forgotten that Jesus is alive. As soon as this comes back to mind and I turn my attention to him, even my problems take on a different meaning. It is not always easy because it is a matter of faith; and a matter of experience. We must experience for ourselves that Jesus is alive.

The chief priests were told about Jesus’ resurrection. But instead, they bribed the guards to distort the story (Mt 28:11–15). We need an act of faith: ‘I know, I believe that you are alive’. The experience of the living Jesus is what gives life to Christian prayer. In prayer, we must realise the presence of the living Jesus. This completely changes the believer’s attitude. If many people are distracted and let their minds wander for long periods during their time of prayer, it is because they do not experience the living Jesus nor place themselves in his presence. Consequently, they cannot pray properly; for them, prayer becomes merely a recitation or a moment of reflection that is sometimes tedious.

Prayer is an encounter with someone. A living person, and that changes everything. Has my prayer of late been an encounter with Jesus? Silent moments of prayer risk becoming a burden to me if they are not an encounter with the living Christ. On the other hand, if I encounter Jesus in prayer, these moments will seem very short to me and I will benefit from them deeply. Unfortunately, we are often faced with doubts. Is Jesus really alive? Does he really love me? Why, then, are my prayers not answered? Why so many difficulties? Is he really listening to me? And there are situations we face that put our faith in the living Jesus to the test. When Jesus rose from the dead, some of the apostles did not believe it, particularly Thomas. He said: ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger into the nail marks… I will not believe’ (John 20:25). Thomas sets conditions for believing that Jesus has risen. Are we not also often the ones who set conditions for Jesus in order to believe that he has risen? But on another day, Jesus appeared to the disciples. He then confronts Thomas’s unbelief. Thomas realises that Jesus is truly alive. That he has risen. So Thomas exclaims: ‘My Lord and my God!’

Jesus the Lord

It is when I experience that Jesus is alive, that he has risen, that I can acknowledge, like Thomas, that he is Lord. Let us pray, let us implore the Holy Spirit to grant us the experience once more that Jesus is alive. It is the experience of Jesus’ resurrection and of Pentecost that strengthens the disciples in their faith. ‘If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved’ (Romans 10:9). Jesus is Lord! Alleluia!