{"id":26704,"date":"2023-04-22T07:05:43","date_gmt":"2023-04-22T12:05:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/?p=26704"},"modified":"2023-04-22T07:26:13","modified_gmt":"2023-04-22T12:26:13","slug":"do-you-believe-in-the-resurrection-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/do-you-believe-in-the-resurrection-why\/","title":{"rendered":"Do You Believe in the Resurrection? Why?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Our Christian faith proclaims something quite extraordinary. Something that science (physics, biology, astronomy, and chemistry) cannot verify or prove . . . Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes us so sure that he lives? That first Sunday saw 11 frightened apostles wondering at the women\u2019s report that the tomb was empty. Since then Christianity has grown to number 1.2 billion people. For two thousand years there\u2019s been this day we call Easter Sunday. We color eggs, we bake bread, we buy flowers for the dinner table . . . \u201cOh Christian, how do you know Christ lives?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of us must look inside for this one. Why do I believe? Is it because the Pope says so? OR, because that\u2019s just what I was taught? OR, it makes for something nice to teach the children? I hope that\u2019s not your answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What brings you to church this day? Why do you believe that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead and alive and active?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May I suggest an answer? First of all, because he said this would happen. \u201cIn three days I will be raised up.\u201d Secondly, because we have seen a love that surpasses all reason, a love so strong and pure that it could only come from a source beyond the human heart. (It\u2019s not the love in romance, not the love of hobby or pastimes, not the love of beauty and art.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Easter liturgies told of an historical event. We watched a human being love like God. It\u2019s a love never seen or imagined before. Jesus died giving witness to a God who loves us in a totally selfless way. He endured scourges and spitting, he forgave his murderers from the cross, he emptied himself totally at the will of God his Father . . . so that the invisible God\u2019s love might become visible to us by the obedience of his Son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there\u2019s more . . . we believe that Jesus is alive because countless men, women, and children have experienced the love of Christ in their own lives and have in turn given that love to their neighbor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Have you seen it? Have you seen or felt the love of Christ working in this world? Of course you have!! These are hints of Christ\u2019s resurrected love:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mother who risks her own health for the health of her baby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A soldier who\u2019s mission puts his life at risk so that \u201cno one is left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The friend who visits you in the hospital, the psych ward, the county jail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A sister who forgives your unkind words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The priest or nun who acts like Christ and makes you want to go to heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The poor person who gives more to the needy than you do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foster parents, who save the lives of young people. Your spouse who really loves you despite all your faults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The quiet hope that comes to you when you sit in an empty church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first responder who runs toward danger when all others flee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The little child who laughs and plays with friends in a refugee camp far from her home. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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We\u2019ve been freed from ourselves because the love of Christ has satisfied our hungry heart. Now there is a new way of living. It\u2019s a life for others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a life that unites us to God by our union with His Son, Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fr. Tim<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our Christian faith proclaims something quite extraordinary. Something that science (physics, biology, astronomy, and chemistry) cannot verify or prove . . . Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. What makes us so sure that he lives? That first Sunday saw 11 frightened apostles wondering at the women\u2019s report that the tomb was empty. Since […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weekly-column"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26704"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26715,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26704\/revisions\/26715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}