Easter Wednesday

An Easter Reflection4

by a Carthusian

He is there, the Lord, beside us, the same and yet different. He takes part in our usual activities, he watches the fishing, he eats with us around the fire, he walks with us along the road, he explains the Scriptures to us, he shares our bread. But he has changed, and at first we do not recognize him. Then, a familiar continuity with Jesus of Nazareth. He bears the marks of the nails in his hands, but he is Lord and God; to him all power in heaven and on earth is given.

We hesitate, we hang on to the familiar contours of the sadness that followed the ruination of our hopes. It is painful, but it is within our reach, ‘we are well-versed in it’… Why disturb [us] with your light that is too pure, your life that is too strong, your love that is too demanding? If we agree to believe – again! – to what suffering, to what disappointment are we opening the door? We will be changed, everything will have to be begun again, we will be obliged to open our heart, to throw ourselves into a life of love, and suffering lies in wait on the road… A dead Christ leaves the world to us – a world that does not amount to much, but is within our reach. A living Christ, present – that changes everything… It opens onto an abyss from all sides. We are no longer sufficient to ourselves…

The Lord Speaks

Do not be afraid! I love you exactly as you are. I have taken your weaknesses upon myself, I shared them, all except your sin… Your weaknesses remain, so that my power in you may appear as coming from me and your pride may not appropriate it. The effort, the risk, the responsibility of your freedom remain, so that… you may come to me of your own accord. I want you to have a share in my entire mystery, not only in my glory, but in my laboriously lived love and in my death. In that way, life will pass through you to your brothers. Your powerlessness to love truly with all your heart, that will also remain, but only to the extent that you must learn to climb the road of love… not to count on your own strength to love, so that you let me love in you.

For that is the ultimate answer to all your doubts. What I bring you is the gift of my risen life, my light which sees the Father face to face, my love which is the love of the Father in me and my love in the Father; a love which is the bond of communion in the Trinity of God, and between you and all your brothers in my body, the Church. You have only to open up by faith so that the divine power of this light-life-love may unfold freely in you…

The meaning of life, the meaning of time, is to strain towards that final victory, not to realise it fully in your life… A poor man, rich in love, in my love for you. I give you my poverty: be my love. Love! That is the substance of eternal life. It is already present, because I am present, to the extent of your faith and your love