Thursday of the
Sixth Week of Easter
(Acts 18:1-8; John 16:16-20)
Of all the innovations of the past fifty years none seems
as incredible as walking on the moon. It
was the first contact ever of a human being with a celestial object. Interestingly, after the Apollo program
ended, humans have never landed again on a celestial body. When Jesus refers to his resurrection in
today’s gospel, he speaks of a more extraordinary occurrence.
Jesus keeps saying, “…in a little while.” In fact, the
phrase is used seven times in the passage.
It refers to both his death and resurrection. “In a little while,” he will be
crucified. Then in another “little while”
he will rise from the dead. His
disciples cannot appreciate what he means because the concept of individual resurrection
is utterly novel. The Pharisees teach of
a general resurrection. But that one
person would rise independently from the dead is as foreign an idea as a
moonwalk was in the nineteenth century.
We too may have difficulty believing in the
resurrection. It is helpful to remember
that Jesus’ was attested to by someone diametrically opposed to him. St. Paul persecuted Christians until Christ encountered
him on the road to Damascus. The promise
that Jesus’ resurrection gives of our own is essential. It fixes our eyes on eternal happiness when
they are readily sidetracked by banal interests. Forty days after we first proclaimed Jesus’
rising this year, it is worth the effort to do so again.
