A word from the Superior General

The Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is the fundamental and original event of the Christian Faith. If Christ has not been raised then our preaching is useless and your believing it is useless. (1 Cor, 15, 14). The four Gospels tell how the followers of Jesus experience the meeting with the Risen Christ – an experience which is in total contrast with the experience that had been theirs during the passion and death of the One they loved dearly and in whom they had placed all their trust, because He responded to so many questions that made up their lives.

For them the Risen Christ was the Crucified One. Like Mary Magdalene and the disciples of Emmaus they have great difficulty in recognising Him. They had seen Him die on the cross and He was well and truly dead. It was the end of all that they had experienced with Him and the contrary would never have occurred to anyone: namely that Jesus who had died could be alive. Now as they talked this over, Jesus himself came up and walked by their side; but something prevented them from recognizing Him (Luke 24, 16). They had to pass from the state of being with Him, of believing in Him, of having total trust in Him, not just for a given time but in everything and for good. The only thing which helps them was seeing the marks of the cross on his Risen Body: the wounds on his hands, his feet, and his side. The Risen Christ is well and truly the same Jesus who was crucified!

The shock of the passion and death of their Master Jesus “who went about doing good” (Acts 10, 38), because he “proved that he was a great prophet by the things he said and did in the sight of God and of the whole people” (Luke 24, 19) left them scattered and lost; the death had broken their ideals and projects and everything looked like a failure. Now what they had experienced with the Crucified Lord now alive helped them to understand this truth that the death of Jesus wasn’t a failure. By giving over the life of Jesus on the cross, through love, the Father showed his Mercy and freed man from sin. It is the time of the alliance: in the death of Jesus the Father loves mankind as he has always loved him and the man Jesus loves the Father as he has never loved him.

Whoever meets the Risen Jesus understands, with his heart on fire, that everything Jesus endured in Jerusalem, his passion and death, was written in the Scriptures and that he himself had announced it on three occasions according to the synoptic gospels. From that point of view we can talk about the type of consolation which St Ignatius felt on the banks of the Cardoner: “While he was sitting there his eyes and understanding began to open up. Not that he actually saw a vision but he understood many things, things spiritual as well as questions concerning faith and texts and with such a clarity of vision that they all seemed new to him”. (Autobiography of St Ignatius No 30) (cf. Luke 24, 45)

With the agony in Gethsemane, the humiliations of the passion and the solitude of the cross, it seemed that the Father had abandoned his Son. By recognising the Risen Jesus, it was perfectly clear that the Father, in hiding, had always been at his side, that he had always supported his Son and kept his promises: He who loses his life will find it and who humbles himself will be exalted”.

The mentality of the disciples changes completely, before and after their meeting with the Risen Jesus. The fact of his death on the Cross, had filled them with sadness, disappointment and fear. We had hoped... that was three days ago... but him they did not see. Their meeting with the Risen Jesus fills them with consolation; they are bursting with joy! It really was true, they said to each other. According as they became aware of what was happening, something was taking place in their souls; they are full of joy and this joy makes they capable of facing all adversity. The women, full of fear and a great joy... Jesus came to meet them and said: “Rejoice! (Mat 28,8-9) Such was their joy that they didn’t dare believe what they were seeing and stood there amazed. (Luke 24,41) The disciples were filled with joy on seeing the Lord. (Jn20,20).

Example: The two disciples of Emmaus experienced self knowledge which led them from overcoming the dramatic events in Jerusalem and breaking from the group. As they listened to the commentary by Jesus their hearts were on fire because they realised that “what had happened during those days” had already been foretold in the Scriptures. At sunset, as they sat down to table to break bread, their eyes were opened and in their companion they recognised Jesus “whom our chiefs had delivered up, had him condemned to death and crucified” (Luke 24,20). They understood the reality of the three messages: Jesus was the principal protagonist of the events in Jerusalem, just as they were foretold in the Scriptures and just as He had revealed Himself in the breaking of bread. All comforted, happy, enthusiastic, they retrace their steps and make their way back to the group of disciples.

“Peace be with you!” This is the greeting from the Risen Christ which was to ring out three times in John 20 (19, 21 and 26). Far from seeking to wreak vengeance, the victim of injustice, violence and humiliation at the hands of the powerful of this world, “Jesus meek and humble of heart” appears as a messenger of peace. The last word wasn’t going to be a power struggle and violence but one of love even unto death.

The result of such an experience is the gift of the Holy Spirit and the missioning of the disciples so as to open to all, men and women, the way of personal renewal.

Easter is an invitation to call to mind the fundamental experience of the meeting with the Risen Jesus and to give it fresh stimulus; this is something which has impact on our whole way of life. Have you noticed anything in your life which is anything like the experience of the disciples?

Gaspar Fernández Pérez scj
Superior General