ignorance is not bliss
"Yet I know, my brothers, that you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did." —Acts 3:17
If we do not act in accord with the fact of Jesus' resurrection, we are acting in ignorance. If we rarely mention the risen Jesus in our conversation, we are speaking in ignorance. If we are content to watch TV programs which ignore the risen Christ, we are living in ignorance. Jesus' resurrection is not just another event which we may recall periodically.
The resurrection is such great news that it overshadows all other news and all reality. We are either preoccupied with the resurrection or ignorant of its significance. When the apostles first met the risen Christ, they thought they were seeing a ghost (Lk 24:37). Jesus went to great lengths to prove He had flesh and bones (Lk 24:39ff). Jesus' resurrection must not be for us a ghostly abstraction from antiquity, but the very flesh and bones of our everyday life.
We should buy what we buy, work where we work, and live where we live because of our commitment to the risen Jesus. We live a lifestyle that makes no sense except to those who believe in Jesus' resurrection. We draw our "life from the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Pt 1:3).
Prayer: Father, never let me "get over" the resurrection. Prompt people to ask me why I'm so different and happy (see 1 Pt 3:15).
Promise: "Then He opened their minds to the understanding of the Scriptures." —Lk 24:45
Praise: Praise Jesus, Who is proclaimed as "My Lord and My God!" (Jn 20:28) "God raised Him from the dead" (Acts 3:15). Alleluia!
Reference: (For a related teaching, order our leaflet Risen Life or on audio AV 4A-1, AV 4A-3, AV 4B-1, AV 4B-3 or video V-4A, V-4B.)
Rescript: †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, October 3, 2008
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