Christ is Risen, Indeed He is Risen!

“Christ is Risen, Indeed He is Risen!”

I love that this statement is in the present tense and we can proclaim this just as loudly today as the disciples could when they first encountered the Risen Christ. The risen Christ is present among us in our everyday, daily lives. We may not get to tangibly touch the wounds on his hands and feet like Thomas could to know for certain, but we can touch the wounds of those around us to have our own experience of turning from doubt to faith that Christ is really here, present among us. It is up to us to discover Him and to proclaim that He is risen!

As most of you know the SSJ Mission Corps has been on a hiatus from having active volunteers. So when I began this job, or ministry as I like to call it, I came in without volunteers to work with, to challenge, to be challenged by, and to be in relationship with, my favorite part about working in the field of ministry. I have often equated these past 7 months to Mary’s pregnancy as she was waiting for the joy and hope that the Christ child would bring the world. I work and wait for the joy and hope that having volunteers in the SSJ Mission Corps will bring; not only to my work but to the Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia. During the Advent season I couldn’t help but feel a part of Mary’s story and reflect on the process and period of waiting. “Waiting in Joyful Hope” is one of my favorite “slogans” for advent as it truly is a time where we are reminded that our waiting is not in vain. Our waiting has purpose and meaning and, if truly looked for, depth! We can discover God in the darkest of places.

My friend recently shared this quote with my about St. Paul of the Cross: “If you asked St. Paul of the Cross today for some words of wisdom, he probably would point to a cross he usually carried and tell you to look at the world you live in, then look at yourself with this mystery of Jesus Christ in mind. Maybe he would say something like this:

“Are times bad? Is your church shaken? Is God nowhere to be seen? Well, what about my own lifetime? That dreadful time, when faith crumbled and God seemed to have abandoned his Son? Yet, God was never closer than in that dark moment, and God is close to you now. I found him first at a bad time, in an ordinary church, listening to an ordinary sermon. You can find him too. Don’t be afraid of the darkness. And be ready: God uses simple things to come to you.”

To which I reflected on the other day alongside the Gospel story of the road to Emmaus. On the road to Emmaus the disciples were feeling a loss of hope, one of the darkest places to be (at a loss of hope). Yet found Christ in the ordinary moment of walking with a stranger and breaking bread. Christ was closer than they ever could have imagined in one of the "darkest" moments of the Gospels (i.e. feeling a loss of hope...)—wow. It was in this dark moment that they found God; their hearts were opened to the possibility of Jesus among them and he was recognized in the simple act of breaking bread.  

I don’t like to admit it but most days I am tempted to give in to the “darkness” that I feel is pervading the future SSJ Mission Corps. However, when I look further into that supposed darkness I find a light and a hope greater than anything else, I find Christ. The same Christ that rose from the dead almost two thousand years ago is the same Christ that rises up today and every day. The Spirit is moving within all things so we can always find God no matter how dark things seem and we can say, 

“Christ is Risen, Indeed He is Risen!”