His Promises Are True

The resurrection tells us that Jesus Christ is true to His word. He said He would rise from the dead in three days, and He did. That means we can take Jesus at His word, when He says that those who believe and are baptized will be saved; or when He says that bread and wine are actually His Body and Blood in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; or when He says that His priests have His power to forgive sins. Those promises are sure. He is true to His word, and His rising from the dead shows that.

The resurrection means that the new creation has come in the crucified and risen body of Jesus Christ. St. Paul calls Jesus the “first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” The first-fruits are like the season's first rose that blooms, or like the first tomato that ripens – it’s the sign of more to come. 

The resurrection of Christ means that death has been dealt the decisive blow. Christ has taken the sting out of death by dying for us. And now He asks us to live for Him. His resurrection means that He has given us a mission – and He summed that up when He said, “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren, you do to Me.” 

Christ did not remain in the tomb, nor can we remain in the tombs we make out of our own selfishness, or inaction, or lack of love for others. As St. Paul wrote, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come.” Our Lord's resurrection is a call to us to go into the world in His Name and in His power, so that by our example, by our works of charity, and by our speaking the truth, the whole world may know the power of Christ’s resurrection.