What surprises us with awe and joy!

Easter presents us with a new reality that centres on the risen Christ. This new reality not only challenged the early disciples but also challenges us. What we are called to notice is that this is not focussing on what we need to give up but rather the relationship that we need to sustain. When Jesus appeared in the midst of the disciples they were overcome with fear believing they were seeing a ghost. Sometimes we can sense the same reality when a loved one dies. Familiar events can draw that person to mind and at times we can be caught by surprise when we are touched deeply. The circumstances can overwhelm us in ways that are hard to put into words. We are often drawn towards memorials of that person which are either the clothes they wore, the pictures we remember by or even the place where they are buried. There is a connection that holds us close to the memory of the person.

The resurrection touches us in the same way but more profoundly. In the encounter with Jesus, the disciples notice a fundamental shift that rocks their own understanding. They become physically present to their own response to how Jesus is truly present. This is not just a figment of their imagination or wishful thinking. They are not just moved by distant memories called to mind but a new encounter that changes their lives. This is how the journey to Pentecost changes us. The locus of control is not centred on what we want but on who Jesus is for us. He moves towards us so that we can move towards him. This is a relationship that transforms us in our own daily encounters and refocuses why we do what we do. It opens our minds and hearts to be people who understand how we are called to rise from the "dead" and seek a new life.

This is what we witness in daily life that Jesus calls us to be people who proclaim the Gospel by our way of life. This is not just lip service or formula of words but a way of being present to our world. This is a lived encounter with the person of Jesus who stands at the heart of our Christian community. It does not make us superhuman but it does recreate us in God's image and likeness. The call to be a witness is not a task to be undertaken as if it was something on the to-do list. Rather it calls us to become more fully alive with awe and joy that God seeks this profound new relationship that transforms us and the way that we live. Not because we have to but as a result of how Jesus' life stands at the centre of our own. We cannot but be faithful to the indwelling spirit which arises within us and proclaims that Jesus has risen!