1 Cor 15:12-20 / Luke 8:1-3
Paul talks about our resurrection: Christ has been raised.
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For the apostles the Cross and resurrection are the centre
of their faith. "If the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised
either". The connection between our resurrection and his is this:
Christ came down for us, and for our salvation. The life of Christ,
God-made man, has no meaning unless it is for the salvation of men. He came
down
St. Paul expressed his conviction about the resurrection of
Jesus even to the extent that he and those who proclaimed the resurrection and
are shown up as witnesses would have committed perjury before God since they
swore before God that He had raised Christ to life.
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Where do we find other evidences of the
resurrection? "We are Easter people." St. Augustine of
Hippo
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Good news, like all news, wants to be spread. For this,
Christ need an organised effort and team work. He chose for his team a
motley but a dedicated group. Already the team of his apostles were a selection
of different characters and temperaments. There were women in the company not
as preachers, but to look after the needs of them. This astonishes even today.
The Jerusalem Bible gives this passage the heading. "The women
accompanying Jesus", forgetting the Twelve and the many others that were
with him. The first name is that of Mary Magdalene, traditionally the sinful
woman he had met in Simon’s house; Joanna the wife of Chuza, who was the
steward of Herod, which means his finance administrator. This made her a
woman of wealth and influence. Susanna is just the good efficient woman,
anxious to serve. Did he call them sisters? Every talent was welcome. They
had to work in unity as a team and make many sacrifices touring. Their job was the
greatest: Bringing Christ to the world.
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To do volunteer work is a matter of choice. We can choose to
do it or we may choose not to do it. And if we choose to do volunteer work,
then we will see if it suits our availability and our suitability. In other
words, we usually do volunteer work according to what we choose to do, and
usually it is at our convenience.
In the gospel, we hear of a group of people following Jesus in His mission of
preaching and proclaiming the Good News. It was like a motley collection of
people of various statuses in society. Besides the Twelve, there were also some
women who had been cured of evil spirits and ailments, like Mary Magdalene and
Susanna. More than just being volunteers, they provided for the group out of
their own resources. They don't choose to give out of their own convenience but
according to what the group required. For these women, they have a conviction
of who Jesus is and of His mission. They had experienced it for themselves and
that led to their conviction.
For St. Paul and those who followed Jesus, to serve God is
certainly not a voluntary work that is done in their terms and conditions. For
them to serve and witness to the Lord is a choice and a conviction. May we also
have the conviction to make the same choice.
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Let us pray: Lord our God, men and women are
responsible together for the life of faith of our Christian communities. As
they were disciples of Jesus and his companions on the road, may they also
accompany us today, with their identity and potentials, that the Church may
grow and its faith be alive and imbued with love. We ask you this through
Christ our Lord.
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