When He was at the table with them, He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, 'Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?' Luke 24:30-32 NRSV

Unchanged?

Holy Week and the Easter celebration enables us to emotionally and spiritually walk with Jesus and the disciples through their spiritual warfare and victory. On Holy Thursday our hearts are alternately warmed and chilled as we enter into Jesus’ inauguration of the Eucharist, and hear the warning of his coming betrayal. Our hearts are burdened with heaviness on Good Friday as we recall Jesus’ arrest, abusive trial and crucifixion, even though we know “the rest of the story.” During the Easter vigil and Easter celebration we are able to exalt in Jesus’ resurrection and victory over Satan, the forces of evil, and death. We rejoice knowing that death is destroyed once and for all and that we have new life through faith in Jesus.

Sadly, for many, the Easter story ends on Easter morning. Actually, Easter should be just the beginning of a new reality which we should ever experience in the future. What are we celebrating if we are not celebrating an invitation to a new way of living? How tragic it would have been for the disciples to have participated in this fateful week in Jesus life and to have walked away unchanged. How tragic it would have been if they simply returned to their homes and picked up their lives where they left off before they met Jesus. The whole message of the Gospel of John is captured in the opening paragraph; “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” And in the closing chapters, Jesus’ death and resurrection fulfilled the truth uttered at the beginning of his ministry. Would it be possible to really comprehend this truth, celebrate it, and walk away unchanged by it? I think not!

There are three expected changes that are reasonable to expect. The first is when Jesus twice said, “Peace be with you.” No more should our lives be characterized by fear; fear of death, fear of God’s retribution, or fear of powerlessness in our lives to overcome the darkness. As we contemplate the finished work of Christ and entrust ourselves to him we should see a diminishing of fear and an up-surging of peace filling our being.

A second change should come about as we grasp Jesus’ statement, “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” This commission provides purpose and direction for a lifetime. No more must we wander meaninglessly about trying to discover why we exist, or what our purpose is. Jesus’ resurrection and his commission provide the ultimate promotion; to be ambassadors of Christ to a world that lives in darkness and to a world from which we have been delivered. We have become bearers of forgiveness to a world experiencing the affects of condemnation.

The third change is captured in John’s statement, “that believing you may have life in his name.” If we walk away unchanged, only to experience life as do the nonbelievers around us, we are missing out, really missing out. Jesus truly offers us new life, a life with new attitudes, with a new spirit, with new power over sin, with new relationships, both with God and with God’s people, a new family. We need not walk away unchanged. We can continue to walk with the disciples emotionally and spiritually for the remainder of our lives. The process for us is the same as it was for them. We need to go to Jesus and ask him to breathe into us new life, then join with his disciples to follow him. “If our life in God is to become vital in our experience, we must be involved in ongoing and repeated transformation. It does not have to be forced, but it does have to be real. God’s grace will do most of it, but our cooperation is required.” ( Marilyn Gustin in Living the Liturgy).