Our Sacred Stories ~ Easter: The Paschal Mystery

The Paschal Mystery refers to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus as the Christ and it includes the gift of his Spirit to us. Listening to the Gospels we hear the story of Jesus as he gathered disciples and shared the Good News of life for all. We see his care and concern for the most vulnerable, the wounded, the poor and the distressed.

The disciples who came to follow him hoped he was the one who would bring peace and healing to Israel. They wanted Jesus to be the messiah who would free Israel from foreign domination and bring a new and triumphant Kingdom. This did not happen. Instead, he was crucified. In the end, Jesus accepted physical death. But he also accepted to yield his spirit to the Father – Father, into your hands I commend my spirit (Luke 23:46).

The Father raised him up. He did not simply put physical life back into Jesus’ body. Rather, Jesus was resurrected. Jesus was given new life… and a new Spirit. It is a life that is greater and more than physical life. The Paschal Mystery gathers together the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It includes the belief that this mystery is being poured out on Jesus’ disciples and beyond. The real Good News is the that the Paschal Mystery is not limited to Jesus, or to a few disciples. It is a mystery of life for all, for all humanity.

We live in a world that sorely needs this Good News. Individually and globally, we often face darkness more than light. Much of the darkness is brought on by our human tendencies and weaknesses. Several years ago, a film appeared that highlighted some of our darker human tendencies, Avatar (2009). In part, it was a story of greed and exploitation. It revealed the pain, destruction and desolation that can come from greed.

The film was also a story of mystery and discovery, and in the end, it expressed the possibility that greed and exploitation can be overcome. There is always the promise of movement from darkness to light, from death to new life.

This is the Paschal Mystery and the focal point of Easter in our Good News. We are disciples of Jesus. Our mission is the Paschal Mystery. The spirit of the risen Jesus rests in us. His mission is our mission now. Our call is to bring new life, a new spirit to all the peoples of the earth – to heal, to reconcile, to offer hope, to bring life. We do not wait for the risen Jesus, for the risen one is with us now and will always be with us. Sharing this Good News of life and light is our mission. We are Easter people. May we live and act as Easter People in our world, for the sake of all humanity.