THE NEW FACE OF GOD
Now they won’t ever be the same. The encounter with Jesus, full of life after his execution, completely transformed his disciples. They began to see everything in a new way. God was the one who raised up Jesus. Quickly they drew out the consequences.
God is the friend of life. There’s no doubt about it now. What Jesus had said was true: «God isn’t a God of the dead, but of the living». People can destroy life in a thousand ways, but if God has raised up Jesus, this means that God only wants life for God’s children. We aren’t alone or lost in the face of death. We can count on a Father who above all, even above death, wants to see us full of life. From now on, there’s only one Christian way to live. It’s summed up like this: put life where others put death.
God is of the poor. Jesus had said it in many ways, but it wasn’t easy to believe him. Now it’s different. If God has raised up Jesus, then we can say that the truth is: «Blessed are the poor, because they have God». Neither Tiberius nor Pilate have the last word, the last decision isn’t of Caiaphas or Annas. God is the last defender of those who no one is concerned about. There’s only one way of being like God: defender of the little ones and the defenseless.
God raises up the crucified. God has reacted in the face of the criminal injustice of those who have crucified Jesus. If God has raised him up, it’s because God wants to introduce justice above so much abuse and cruelty that is committed in the world. God isn’t on the side of those who crucify, God is with the crucified. There’s only one way of imitating God; always be near those who suffer, always fight against those who bring about suffering.
God will dry our tears. God has raised up Jesus. The one rejected by all has been welcomed by God. The one despised has been glorified. The dead are more alive than ever. Now we know how God is. One day God «will wipe away all our tears, and there will no longer be death, there will not be cries or troubles. All that will have passed».
José Antonio Pagola
Translator: Fr. Jay VonHandorf
