Resurrection Sunday: Easter Eyes

Today is Resurrection Sunday. He is risen! Creation in Christ continues! If Good Friday is the 6th day of the Creation and Holy Saturday is the 7th day of the Creation, then Resurrection Sunday is the 8th Day of Creation. Or perhaps the 1st day of New Creation. The point is that Easter is not the end of God’s work. It’s just the beginning! And it’s a work that is finally comprehensible to the New Humanity that is coming into being. It’s only when we are given Easter eyes that we can begin to make sense of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. That is why in Matthew’s Gospel, the angel instructs the two Marys, “Tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me” (Matt. 28:10). 

Galilee is where the adventure began for the disciples, though, at the time it made no sense. And how could it? They had not yet been given easter eyes. It’s only by the light of the resurrection that the story makes any sense. By meeting the risen Christ back in Galilee, Jesus is inviting his disciples to retrace their steps, but this time with easter eyes. This is the rosetta stone. This is how the disciples are able to finally “see”. Our lives are no different. It’s only when we retrace our steps and retell the story with Easter eyes that we can see things for what they are. 

Easter Morning
by William Stafford

Maybe someone comes to the door and says,
“Repent,” and you say, “Come on in,” and it’s
Jesus. That’s when all you ever did, or said,
or even thought, suddenly wakes up again and
sings out, “I’m still here,” and you know it’s true.
You just shiver alive and are left standing
there suddenly brought to account: saved.
Except, maybe that someone says, “I’ve got a deal
for you.” And you listen, because that’s how
you’re trained – they told you, “Always hear both sides.”
So then the slick voice can sell you anything, even
Hell, which is what you’re getting by listening.
Well, what should you do? I’d say always go to
the door, yes, but keep the screen locked. Then,
while you hold the Bible in one hand, lean forward
and say carefully, “Jesus?”

The paschal mystery reveals that Creation is not merely an event that happened a long time ago. It is an ongoing reality that is happening now! As we enter Eastertide may you find yourself on the inside of Creation being freed up to do that which we are created to do – participate in the ongoing act of Creation, as modeled by Jesus. This is our most sacred vocation. “As the Father sent me, so I send you.” Go in peace to love and serve.