By Sister Mary Roy Weiss, SSND
May Resurrection power be with you!
I've offered this prayer to and for family, friends, and community members at Easter, as seems fitting. I've also offered it at other times, when a special uplifting of strength and resolution are called for. Because Resurrection power is real.
It is the call to change.
What does Resurrection really mean?
When Jesus rose from the dead, he had changed. He had a new way of being. This required a new way of seeing!
He challenged us then - and now - to change the way we viewed Him. He invited us to see Him differently, both before and after the Resurrection.
That was the challenge to many on the scene, including the women at the tomb, the guards, the apostles and disciples. Many could not believe their eyes: the rolled-back stone, the empty tomb, the angels at the tomb, the “gardener.” They could not trust what their eyes were telling them. They had to change the way they saw.
The Old Testament people whose eyes were "ever on the Lord" (Psalm 25:15) were in New Testament territory now! Resurrection territory!
Their expectation had been altered. They neither knew what they were seeing, nor what to perceive.
They were called to die to those past expectations ... and to adapt to the new reality that Resurrection brings.
As they did so, they began to see.
I daresay that the eyes of their hearts underwent the most dramatic change!
This is Resurrection power.
Like our Old Testament sisters and brothers, we question our perceptions in our effort to really see in Resurrection territory.
As we journey through the Resurrection season, let us be New Testament people. Let us "fix our eyes on Jesus..." (Hebrews 12:2).
Let us see and acknowledge God’s goodness in others, see and live greater compassion with all humanity, and see and appreciate every conversion of heart that Jesus is calling us to.
May Resurrection power be with you!
