Let us give the gift of resurrection to the world!

by Paul Yeung 2016-03-27

Paul Yeung 2016-03-27

The Resurrection of the Lord

Acts 10:34A, 37-43
Peter proceeded to speak and said: “You know what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Colossians 3:1-4
Brothers and sisters: If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.

John 20:1-9
On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.

The experience of visiting the hospitals and the elderly homes often resembles Mary’s initial empty-tomb experience. A sense of hopelessness often fills the air. People’s eyes look empty. Like Jesus' desolate utterance on the cross - "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46) - you can almost hear by looking into their eyes their despairing cry for help. Patients who are suffering from terminal illness or elderly who are suffering from loneliness because of the abandonment by the family lose hope in life. As a consequence, we should not be surprised if there will be strong demand for physician assisted suicide in the future.

On the other hand, a chat with those more positive patients often reveals that the unwavering support and companionship of the family/friends is what gives them courage to live on. Mary’s intimate encounter with Christ cast out all her darkness and grief. In like manner, many people who are on the brink of despair desperately need to encounter Christ and be transformed.

Easter is a season of hope. Just as Mother Teresa brought hope to the dying, the sick, and the neglected, let us also reach out and become Christ to those who are desolate or feeling helpless, bringing the compassionate presence of the Risen Lord to the world.

Paul Yeung

Executive Director of Fountain of Love and Life (FLL).

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Let us give the gift of resurrection to the world!

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