There's no escaping Easter

I didn't get to the Easter vigil last night. I wasn't well and stayed at home. But Easter reaches all of us, and the shock of resurrection kicks open the door to eternity for everyone. Even if they don't get to church.

Jesus was dead, and is risen. Not just risen but alive for ever. Not just today but for every time. Not just for me, or for Christians but for all people. Not just for all people but for all creation. Easter reveals the mystery behind all life, all science, and all loving kindness: that nothing really dies for long. Jesus knew it and told his disciples but they didn't understand. When he appeared to them, they were terrified, they struggled.

He was the same Jesus but transformed

Was he a ghost, walking through closed doors? Was he a resuscitated body? Was he a fantasy? No, Jesus was a renewed phenomenon, a human being who, by trusting his Father, had embraced time and eternity in his own body. He was now present in time and also in all time. He was immanent and transcendent as theology might put it. Therefore, he could appear and disappear, walk through closed doors and eat a meal like anyone else. He could be in many places at the same time. He is with us as we read these words. He was with us on the day of our birth and will be there on the day we die.

Jesus reached this new state simply by trusting an eternal bond with his Father. The Jewish authorities asked Jesus to deny that bond and his identity as Son of God. He went to the cross because he could not deny his Father. In the garden of Gethsemane he realised that there was no alternative but to accept this chalice of suffering. His last words on the cross reveal the core intent of his whole life, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit"

That final prayer is the model for us all as we follow Jesus through our own paschal mystery. The deep connection between Jesus and his Father was a compass that pulled him through suffering to life beyond life. Today Jesus invites us to trust his Father too, to live a loving kindness that lasts forever. He asks us to store up treasure for eternity through optimistic and merciful living. Forgiving and trusting goodness in ourselves and in others. Then, word by word, gesture by gesture, our lives will reveal the depth of unstoppable new life even in the valley of the shadow of death.

So, Easter is not a one off, not an isolated event in the chaos of life. It is the unstoppable energy that gives meaning and direction to all creation. Today we are invited to believe and to trust like Jesus and in him, embrace Easter every day and forever.