“WHY DO YOU LOOK FOR THE LIVING AMONG THE DEAD?”

The Church commemorates the greatest event in history; the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

No one had ever before shown what God revealed to the human beings, the power to overcome death. Previously, death had the final say. So now we can say the prayer in the Scripture, “where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15:55).

What does this, which Jesus had previously announced, mean to the followers of Jesus? That He was going to die but resurrect on the third day; His disciples could not understand. It is not easy to understand that someone may die in a cruel and sacrificial way like Jesus; hundreds of people witnessed His crucifixion. And to make sure He died; Jesus’ chest was pierced with a spear by a Roman soldier. According to John, water and blood flowed from this wound (John 19:34) and, according to the medical science, this would confirm Jesus’ death.

Resurrection is hope

Today, we are living a historical time with this pandemic. We have seen thousands of people depart from around us and all over the world. Many of us still mourn and pray for the departed and the grieving and those that are still sick from this disease.

However, these days are to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. What is the message conveyed by this event in the midst of these times of pain and uncertainty, dread and anxiety?

Let us review the Christian perspective, the way we see death. Women were the first to discover that Jesus was not in the grave. They and the disciples were truly sad but also afraid. So afraid that, according to the Gospel, all of them had locked themselves away to avoid being arrested. They dreaded being put to death in the same way as their Master.

The women were asked, “why do you look for the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5) Meaning that Christ is real and so is His resurrection. Jesus is alive, there is no reason to cry! Therefore, the way the disciples see death is there after changed.

Today, just like those women, I want to tell you that this is our faith, we believe that our loved ones, that have passed away, are subject to the great mercy of Good. That Good has welcomed them and they are not dead! Most certainly, we will not be seeing them physically anymore. But Jesus defeated death and promised that if we believe in Him we will resurrect with Him.

He said, “I am the Resurrection and the Life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die.” (John 11: 25-26) This is the Christian perspective, death is not the end but a step towards eternal life. As I have put it many times before, Saint Paul confirms the way we must see death, not as defeat, not in fear, but faithfully. Saint Paul says, “for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21).

The first believers lived under a death threat. For more than 300 years, these courageous people faced the challenges of being Christians and martyrdom without ceasing to believe in the Risen One, Jesus. They were threatened and thousands died as a result of believing in Him. But they knew that just as He defeated death, they, His followers, would overcome death too. The enemies of the faith could not understand why these people were not afraid to die.

We all humans are afraid to die, and this is normal; but the dread should not paralyze us because on top of everything we are believers, people of faith. Let us live life passionately and embrace the future with hope, not fear, as Pope Francis has recommended, let us not look for the living among the dead!

It will help us a lot to approach people with a living faith to believe Jesus’ promises. Let us not look for the living among the dead. For this is what we do when we resort to sorcerers to read the letters or make spiritual cleansing for us, etc.

Those in God should not deal with the dead because this is not good and drives us away from God. Moreover, we risk being in the hands of the enemy of our souls. Let us celebrate life today and believe that Jesus will resurrect our loved ones.

Jesus asked Mary Magdalene, “woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” (John 20:15). Sister, brother, this is the time to turn our face to the Lord and believe in Him from the bottom of our heart. Stop crying over something that God has the power to transform and overcome. Nothing is beyond the power of God. Cheer up, the grave is empty! He has risen and this is our hope!

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your seed

I infinitely thank all of you who receive this monthly letter and offer your support through your prayers and seeds of love to take the message of salvation to many people. In April, we make 37 years of taking the Word of God to many households around the world through television, radio and social media. We appeal to your good heart and beg for your collaboration to continue sowing the Good Tidings. We hope you can make an effort and make an additional contribution. We are sure that God will give you a hundredfold and bless your families as He promised.

The Sower family prays for you to the Lord every day and thank for your contribution to our past Guardians of the Faith rally that will allow us to purchase a new radio station, this time, for our brothers and sisters in Chicago, Illinois. May God multiply your generosity!

Hand in hand with Jesus and Mary, our Mother of the Tepeyac, I wish you a Happy Easter!