grace changes the equation and the comparison: 11th week Tuesday 2013

The fifth article says that when Jesus died he descended into hell, something that we have reflected last week.  Then the creed continues saying that on the third day he rose again from the dead.  Today we reflect on the resurrection of Jesus which St. Paul places so much importance to when he said to the Corinthians, "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain."  Kon si Kristo wala mabanhaw ang amon pagwali wala sing kapuslanan, kag ang inyo pagtuo wala sing kapuslanan.

Why is everything in vain if Jesus did not rise from the dead?  There are three reasons.

First, the catechism says that the resurrection confirms all the works and teachings of Christ.  Without the resurrection Jesus was no different from pretenders or from impostors of which the ancient world is full of.  Without the resurrection Jesus lied.  That is why our affirmation during Easter is  resurrexit sicut dixit, he has rises as he has said, nabanhaw sia suno sa iya ginsiling.  It is not just simply he is risen, but he is risen as he has said he would.

Thus if Jesus did not rise from the dead then he was a liar all along, all his teachings were lies, all his claims for himself and for us were lies.  But because he rose from the dead Paul preached and his preaching was and is reliable, and our faith is true and our believing will be successful and will be rewarded in the end.

The second reason provided by the catechism why our faith would have been in vain without the resurrection is this:  the resurrection of Jesus becomes the principle and the source of our future resurrection.  Jesus is the first born from the dead, he is the first to be risen from the dead and because of this we too will rise from the dead – just as in Adam all died, in Christ all will rise from the dead.

And finally the third reason, why our faith would have been in vain without the resurrection, the catechism also says that the paschal mystery has two aspects:  by his death Christ liberates us from sin and by his resurrection Jesus opens for us a new life, it reinstates us to the grace of God, ginbalik sa aton ang grasya sang Dios nga nadula naton tungod sang sala.  We live once more in the grace of God because of the resurrection.  That is why after the resurrection Jesus told Mary Magdalene to “go and tell my brethren.”  Jesus after the resurrection calls the disciples his brethren, his brothers and sisters.  We are not just disciples but his brothers and sisters for we have received the new life, we have become once more the children of God, we have once more become recipients of the graces of God because of the resurrection.

What is grace – grace is participation in the life of God – by grace we become participants in the divine life, that is why we are no longer mere disciple but brothers and sisters of Jesus, sons and daughters of God.  This grace made possible by the resurrection of Christ makes things different for all of us.  Without this life of grace then it is only right that we should treat others as they deserve – gin-insulto mo ako, pues insultohan ko man ikaw; gin tonto mo ako pues tontohon ko man ikaw.  Without this participation in the life of God we would exact the same thing that was exacted from us – eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.  But grace makes us participants in the life of God who causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust.  Graces changes the equation, grace changes the comparison - now it is to become like God not like other men.  Grace makes us participants in the life of God who makes his sun rise on the bad and the good.  And this is made possible by the resurrection of Jesus.