God made promises to His people and fulfilled them. The prophecies made by the prophets were promises of God, and they were fulfilled in history. When Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the “Anointed One”of God came to our world in the fullness of time, He too made promises to the people, and to His Apostles in particular. One such promise was: “ The Son of Man will be handed over to the Chief Priests and the Pharisees; He will have to suffer; He will be put to death, and on the third day He will rise again”(Mk. 8:31; 9:31)!
Yet, the Apostles did not understand what Jesus was saying. It did not dawn on the Apostles that what Jesus was saying was about to be fulfilled. Their expectations of a worldly king in whose kingdom they would be “Ministers”, were shattered on Good Friday when Jesus was put to death on a cross. The resurrection event as narrated by the Gospels was too good to believe! It was at Pentecost filled with the power of the Holy Spirit that the Apostles were fully convinced that Jesus was the Messiah and that He has indeed risen as He promised!
This Good News of Jesus rising to life as He said, became the central theme of the kerygma, proclamation by the Apostles.We believe in Jesus who fulfills His promise, keeps His word so that all those who have been given the gift of faith, may believe in Him and become beneficiaries of those promises.The Resurrection of Jesus invites us to deepen our faith in His promises.
During His life on earth, Jesus promised forgiveness of sins, peace, joy and eternal life, and by His death and resurrection, has fulfilled these promises. As disciples of Jesus, let us become channels of peace, forgiveness, joy and life. May the Resurrection faith, hope and love direct our lives. May we keep the promises that we made at Baptism and renewed every year – to give up sin and to daily live a holy life leading to our communion with the Triune God and love for our brothers and sisters. May our words/promises be fulfilled because Jesus is risen, and He walks with us every moment of our lives.
I wish you a HAPPY EASTER! Jesus has risen from the dead as He said, Alleluia! Alleluia!!
Yet, the Apostles did not understand what Jesus was saying. It did not dawn on the Apostles that what Jesus was saying was about to be fulfilled. Their expectations of a worldly king in whose kingdom they would be “Ministers”, were shattered on Good Friday when Jesus was put to death on a cross. The resurrection event as narrated by the Gospels was too good to believe! It was at Pentecost filled with the power of the Holy Spirit that the Apostles were fully convinced that Jesus was the Messiah and that He has indeed risen as He promised!
This Good News of Jesus rising to life as He said, became the central theme of the kerygma, proclamation by the Apostles.We believe in Jesus who fulfills His promise, keeps His word so that all those who have been given the gift of faith, may believe in Him and become beneficiaries of those promises.The Resurrection of Jesus invites us to deepen our faith in His promises.
During His life on earth, Jesus promised forgiveness of sins, peace, joy and eternal life, and by His death and resurrection, has fulfilled these promises. As disciples of Jesus, let us become channels of peace, forgiveness, joy and life. May the Resurrection faith, hope and love direct our lives. May we keep the promises that we made at Baptism and renewed every year – to give up sin and to daily live a holy life leading to our communion with the Triune God and love for our brothers and sisters. May our words/promises be fulfilled because Jesus is risen, and He walks with us every moment of our lives.
I wish you a HAPPY EASTER! Jesus has risen from the dead as He said, Alleluia! Alleluia!!
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