Rising from the dead

THE story of Christ raising Lazarus to life again (cfr Jn

11,1-45) is a poignant reminder that all of us also need to rise from

the dead, that is, the death of sin and its many dangers and threats

that continually hound us all throughout our life.

            Only Christ can raise us from such death. But we somehow

need to dispose ourselves to such intervention of Christ, either

personally or, if not possible, with the help of our friends.

            In the latter case, we have to remind ourselves that if we

have the possibility we should help others get to Christ for them to

receive such intervention of Christ. We have to be instruments to

their rising from the death of sin by bringing them to Christ.

            Yes, we have to work on our continuing conversion, ours

and that of others. That’s because conversion is a necessity for us,

since no matter how good we feel we are or how good we have been doing

so far, we cannot deny the fact that deep in our heart there is always

a fundamental choice we have to make every step of our life between

good and evil, between God and us. And we often make the wrong choice.

            We can never over-emphasize this need for our conversion

and renewal. In spite of our best intentions and efforts, we somehow

would find ourselves in some irregular, imperfect if not completely

sinful situation.

            If Adam and Eve, our first parents, still in their state

of original justice, managed to fall into sin, how much more us who

have been born already handicapped and wounded with original sin and

exposed to all sorts of temptations and sin in our earthly life.

            The Book of Proverbs tells us that “the just man falls

seven times, and rises again.” (24,16) And our spiritual warfares are

no trivialities, since “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but

against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the

darkness, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph 6,12)

            If we go to Christ begging for his mercy which he will

always give, we will be made new again like a new-born baby. St. Paul

tells us as much. “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come.

The old has gone, the new is here.” (2 Cor 5,17)

            But we may ask, what does it mean to be ‘in Christ,’ and

how does Christ make us new? What has his resurrection got to do with

our becoming a new creation? What does his resurrection contain that

it can make us new?

            These questions, I believe, can help us to have a finer

understanding of the process of our renewal, which actually is a

lifelong process for us and which we have to do continually.

            We need to renew because we tend to grow old and to die

spiritually. Bodily, of course, we cannot help but grow old and die

eventually. But spiritually, we are supposed to live in eternity, ever

young, new and fresh.

            We have to remind ourselves that what makes us old and

subject to death is sin, that is, when we detach ourselves from God

from whom we come and to whom we belong. We, who have been created in

God’s image and likeness and adopted children of his, are meant to

live our life with God who is eternal, ever new and never growing old.

            To make ourselves new again after we have fallen into sin

and thus putting ourselves in the system of getting old and dying, we

need to be forgiven, to receive God’s mercy.

            This is how we rise from the dead.