The Resurrection of Jesus that we celebrate on Easter calls us to have hope in the greatest goal of our lives: attaining joy in heaven forever with God. “Joy is the serious business of heaven”, wrote C.S. Lewis.
The Resurrection of Jesus is not only the cornerstone of our faith, it is an invitation to a joy that this world cannot offer and too often forgets. We believe we long for pleasure and comfort, but deep down, we hunger for joy. We have our heads stuck in the mundane things of this world instead of looking ahead to the joys of the next one. In his great novel, The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis describes what looks like a river of light. It is a procession of saints, with each one emanating a mysterious light.
Ordinary Holiness
The observer imagines that the woman at the back of the procession must be the Blessed Virgin Mary; so great is the honor bestowed upon her. But no! This is simply Sarah Smith, from Golders Green. Sarah Smith, an ordinary woman in the eyes of the world, but in heaven, her life of quiet holiness made her shine with divine glory. In heaven, the saints reflect the glory of God. And in heaven, we will be the saints. This is a reason for joy. It is not about a few moments of fleeting pleasure or getting comfortable or ignoring pain, but rather about possessing joy.
After the death of Jesus, the disciples were overcome by despair and dread. They were afraid that they were next in line to be executed. The Sanhedrin had discovered and destroyed their prophet. Surely, they could not expect to fare better than their Master. So often, like the disciples hiding in the upper room, we allow ourselves to be taken prisoner by despair and dread. We spend so much time afraid. We worry about the future, about the past, and about the present. But how do we move from despair to this radiant joy? We begin, like the first disciples, in the shadow of the Cross. We move out from the shadow of the Cross to the light of Easter Sunday.
Birth of Hope
It happened to the disciples. One of the women of their number, Mary of Magdala, ventured out to take care of the body of the Lord. She discovered the empty tomb. Mary was distraught, as she did not have the presence of mind to think of Jesus predicting his own return from the abode of the dead. She went to Peter and John, who ran out of the house to the place where his body had been laid. They ran, full of worry, but perhaps also with the beginnings of hope. “Could it be? Has he returned from the dead?”
When they discover the empty tomb, John knows to read the signs and recognizes that Jesus has indeed risen from the dead. This fills him with hope. Like him discovering the empty tomb, discovering that heaven is open to us fills us with hope. We spend far too much time worrying about the things of this world and far too little time enjoying the contemplation of heavenly things.
Losing the Joys of Heaven
We all carry wounds, and sometimes we cling to them as if they define us. But Jesus rose to heal, not just to save. He invites us to let go, even of the pain we’ve grown used to.
If we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell (C.S. Lewis, A Mind Awake: An Anthology of C.S. Lewis).
Jesus conquered sin and death through his resurrection. He invites us as well to throw away any vestiges of Hell that seem to be stuck to us. The world proposes that its pleasures make us definitively happy, but in reality they simply trap us and prevent us from discovering what is truly good.
Brothers and sisters, let us live the present, let us take the present in hand, but let us not be overwhelmed. Let us look up, let us look to Heaven, let us remember the goal, let us think that we are called to eternity, to the encounter with God. And, from Heaven to the heart, let us today renew the choice of Jesus, the choice to love him and to walk behind him (Pope Francis, 7 May 2023).
Looking Forward to Heaven
To have hope is to hold on to the good things that God promises us. It is to be full of confidence, not trepidation. This will give us the courage to be holy. Conversely, if we (wrongly) think of holiness as being boring, we will not want to do it. But holiness is being connected to God – and that’s the most exciting thing that can happen to any of us.
This does not mean the road will be easy. The first followers of Jesus faced persecution and even death—but they lived with unshakable hope. So often, we focus on our weaknesses and failings, our “souvenirs of Hell.” This can discourage us; I have to say, however, that when I hear someone speaking about the difficulties of following Christ and coherently living out the faith, I see much less a person who is failing and much more an ordinary saint in the making. Let’s be ordinary saints, then, casting off the attraction of Hell and racing towards Heaven, towards our heavenly Father who reaches out his arms to receive us. Let us choose Heaven, hope, and the joy of holiness.
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