The Easter Season, A Time to Experience New Life in Christ – Part 1
You have been raised to life with Christ, Set your heart then on things that are in heaven, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Let your thoughts dwell on things there, not on things here on earth. For you have died, and your life lies hidden with Christ in God. Your real life is Christ, and when he appears, then you too will appear with him in glory (Colossians 3:1-4).
How can we who died to sin yet live in it? Or are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life (Romans 6:2-4).
For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ (Galatians 3:26-27).
So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come (2 Corinthians 5:17).
On Easter Sunday morning, we read in Colossians 3 that we have been raised to new life in Christ. The Easter Season that we are now celebrating is a grace-filled time to experience this reality in a deeper way, as we reflect on the extraordinary and undeserved gift we have received through Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection.
Through faith and our Baptism, St. Paul tells us we have been “baptized into his death” (Romans 6:3) and we have clothed ourselves with Christ (Galatians 3:27), so that “just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life “ (Romans 6:4). He also tells us that in Christ we are a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). As you reflect on these Scriptural truths, tell Jesus that you want him to be Lord of your life in every part of your life and ask him for the grace and power to live out these truths each day.
In the book, The Binding of the Strong Man, The Teachings of St. Leo the Great by Anne Field, OSB, St. Leo gives us these words to inspire us to live this new life:
The Lord knows how impossible it is for us of ourselves to set our inconstant hearts on the things that are in heaven, or to keep our minds fixed on things there rather than on things here below. We can only do it if he himself lives in us by his Spirit. However, we have his solemn pledge in the Gospel: “Remember, I shall be with you always, to the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:20) . . . In him, we find strength to endure suffering here on earth, and in him we shall receive our share of glory in heaven.
With a promise like this, what need is there to seek empty pleasures apart from the Lord or to give way to cowardice under trials? There will be plenty of pressures from the world to entice us, and there will be plenty of hardships to endure, but the earth is full of the Lord’s mercy. Wherever we are, Christ’s victory is always available to us. “Have no fear,” he told his disciples, “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). He speaks the same word of life to each of us today, telling us not to fear because he who has conquered the powers of darkness is alive in us as the light of the world. It is always Easter for us as long as we hold fast to our faith in the risen Christ and reject all attachment to sin.
Pope Benedict XVI challenges us with these words: “All Christians in their own way can and must be witnesses of the Risen Lord.” People should be able to see this risen life of Christ in us by our words, by the way we live, and how we relate to one another. The starting point, of course, is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). Jesus also said that we should love one another as he has loved us (John 13:34) and that we should be one as the Father and he are one (John 17:21). These are the ways that we can testify to the Risen Lord as we go about living out our lives each day.
Dear Lord, during this grace-filled Easter season, I ask you to continue to deepen the experience of your risen life in me, so I can bear witness to it to others.
Many thanks to The Word Among Us (www.wau.org) for allowing me to adapt meditations in their monthly devotional magazine. Used with permission.
[Maurice Blumberg is the Director of Partner Relations for The Word Among Us Partners, (http://www.waupartners.org/), a ministry of The Word Among Us (www.wau.org) to the Military, Prisoners, and women with crisis pregnancies or who have had abortions. Maurice was also the founding Executive Director of the National Fellowship of Catholic Men (http://www.nfcmusa.org/), for which he is currently a Trustee. He can be contacted at (Enable Javascript to see the email address) or (Enable Javascript to see the email address).]
Questions for Reflection/Discussion
- Take some time to meditate and reflect on the Scriptures at the beginning of the article. What do you think God is trying to reveal to you through them?
- In the article, we hear these words: “Through faith and our Baptism, St. Paul tells us we have been “baptized into his death” (Romans 6:3) and we have clothed ourselves with Christ (Galatians 3:27), so that “just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). He also tells us that in Christ we are a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17).” What does “baptized into his death, “clothed yourselves with Christ,” “live in newness of life,” and “new creation” mean to you?
- The article also goes on to tell us that “As you reflect on these Scriptural truths, tell Jesus that you want him to be Lord of your life in every part of your life and ask him for the grace and power to live out these truths each day.” How important is this step in living out the Scriptural truths? If you have never done this, take a moment now to do this.
- St. Leo the Great says that we can only fix our hearts on the things that are in heaven if Jesus himself lives in us by his Spirit. How often do you turn to the Holy Spirit for the power to live out the new life you have in Christ? What steps can you take to make this a more frequent occurrence in your daily life?
- Finally, St. Leo the Great reminds us that “It is always Easter for us as long as we hold fast to our faith in the risen Christ and reject all attachment to sin.” What do these words mean to you?
- The article ends with these words: “People should be able to see this risen life of Christ in us by our words, by the way we live, and how we relate to one another. The starting point, of course, is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). Jesus also said that we should love one another as he has loved us (John 13:34) and that we should be one as the Father and he are one (John 17:21). These are the ways that we can testify to the Risen Lord as we go about living out our lives each day.” How well are you doing at testifying to the risen Lord? What changes are needed in your life for you to do better?
- Take some time now to pray that you would experience more deeply the risen life of Christ during this Easter Season. Use the prayer at the end of the article as a starting point.
People should be able to see this risen life of Christ in us by our words, by the way we live, and how we relate to one another. The starting point, of course, is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). Jesus also said that we should love one another as he has loved us (John 13:34) and that we should be one as the Father and he are one (John 17:21). These are the ways that we can testify to the Risen Lord as we go about living out our lives each day.
