Believing in the Risen Christ

We have been hearing over the last two weeks at Mass accounts of the appearances of the Risen Lord to his disciples.  These were a crucial part of the disciples’ coming to believe that the Lord was alive after his death.

But what about us?  How do we come to believe in the Risen Lord?  What nourishes that faith within us?

We can find a response to that question in a passage from the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 2, Verse 42.  It reads thus:

“These (the first Christians) remained faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers”.

These four things to which those first Christians were called to be faithful are the same things to which we are called to be faithful.  They keep us in communion with the Risen Lord whom we cannot see or touch or hear.

For us, these four things are the gospels (the teaching of the apostles), the community of faith (the fellowship), the breaking of the bread (the celebration of the Eucharist) and prayer.  Over the next few weeks, we will look at each of these in this segment of the Parish Newsletter. 

We are called to be faithful to the teaching of the apostles.  The New Testament and particularly the gospels give us access to the teaching of the apostles. 

In reading and listening to the gospels, we are not simply seeking information, rather we are seeking to enter into dialogue with the Lord Jesus.  We are seeking to put ourselves in the shoes of those to whom Jesus originally spoke those words or who were involved in the incident being recounted.  The gospels were not written to recreate the past but to offer future generations the opportunity to interact with the Lord.  It is the gospels which enable us to become those who have not seen him but do indeed believe in him.

The word of God in the Scriptures works in a unique way.  It will often be a phrase, an incident, or an image which will stand out for us or will, so to speak, enter into us and make its presence felt within us.  This is what we mean when we say that the Scriptures are inspired – they are a means by which the Holy Spirit links us and unites us to the Lord Jesus.  The Spirit of God can carry these words into our hearts and create the conviction within us that Christ is alive and calling us.

By Fr Frank O’Loughlin