Jesus Rises!

by Jerry Fuller, OMI

 

"In the Greek Orthodox world people welcome one another on Easter with a

special greeting; Christos anesthi. Christ is Risen! To which the reply is,

Alethinos anesthi:  Truly Christ is risen!  That is, indeed, the message of

this day, the message of Easter.  We are an Easter-people, those who know

one another, meet one another, greet one another with the proclamation:

Christos anesthe.  Christ is risen: truly, Christ is risen!  This

proclamation is the theme over and over in the epistles of St. Paul: 'If

Christ be not risen, then our faith is dead.'  St. Paul is so centered in

the risen Christ that he never mentions any of the familiar stories from the

Gospels: no miracles, no beatitudes, no details of Jesus' preaching or

passion.  for Paul the proclamation is: Christ is risen! (1)

 

The Orthodox Church has an interesting Easter custom. At the end of services

on this Easter Sunday eggs are blessed and distributed to everyone in Church

to show that all share in the blessings of this great feast. The members

then greet one another and crack their eggs together. When one egg cracks,

the owner cries: 'Christ is risen!' The other person answers: 'Truly He is

risen!'" (2)

 

"For a Sunday school lesson, the teacher gave each student a plastic egg and

told them to go outside and to find something to put inside the egg that

would symbolize Easter.  When  the children returned, one little girl showed

that she had put a budding flower petal inside her egg to stand for new

life.  Another child put a small stone inside his egg to symbolize the stone

that was rolled away from the tomb.  When a mentally challenged child opened

his egg, there was nothing inside.  At first the teacher felt embarrassed

for him, thinking that he had not understood the assignment.  But then  the

child explained, 'There's nothing inside my egg, because on Easter, Jesus'

tomb Was empty.'" (3)

 

This child had truly understood the meaning of Easter, like St. John who ran

to the tomb with Peter.  Both saw the burial garments in place, but only

John understood that from their position it was clear that no one had thrown

them aside and taken Jesus away. No, the garments were positioned as if

the body in them had just evaporated and the garments simply deflated and

came to rest where they were. This told John that Jesus had truly risen!

 

Of course, neither John nor Peter understood the full meaning of Jesus'

resurrection.  As time would show, the meaning lay not in the message Jesus

left in his words.  No, the full meaning lay in the physical fact that this

man, the Son of God, died and rose again.  St. Paul says little or nothing

about the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus because he was interested

only in the fact of Jesus'  resurrection.  He says "If Christ has not been

raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins...We are the

most pitiable people of all" (1 Cor. 15: 14, 17, 19).  But, thanks to the

accommodating mercies of our god, Christ is risen and we are a forgiven,

redeemed and blessed people.  The resurrection of Jesus is the apex of the

Christ-event without which our believing is in vain.

• Edith Burns was a wonderful Christian who lived in San Antonio, Texas.  She

  was the patient of a doctor by the name of Will Phillips.  Dr. Phillips was

  a gentle doctor who saw patients as people.  His favorite patient was Edith

  Burns. One morning he went to his office with a heavy heart and it was

  because of Edith Burns.  When he walked into that waiting room, there sat

  Edith with her big black Bible in her lap earnestly talking to a young

  mother sitting beside her.

   

  Edith Burns had a habit of introducing herself in this way:  "Hello, my name

  is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?"  Then she would explain the

  meaning of Easter, and many times people would be saved.

  Dr. Phillips walked into that office and there he saw the head nurse,

  Beverly, had first met Edith when she was taking her blood pressure. Edith

  began by saying, "My name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?"

   

  Beverly said, "Why, yes I do."  Edith said, "Well, what do you believe

  about Easter?"  Beverly said, "Well, it's all about egg hunts, going to

  church, and dressing up."

   

  Edith kept pressing her about the real meaning of Easter, and finally led

  her to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Dr. Phillips said, "Beverly, don

  't call Edith into the office quite yet.  I believe there is another

  delivery taking place in the waiting room.  After being called back into the

  doctor's office, Edith sat down and when she took a look at the doctor she

  said, "Dr. Will, why are you sad?  Are you reading your Bible?  Are you

  praying?"

   

  Dr. Phillips said gently, "Edith, I'm the doctor and you're the patient."

  With a heavy heart he said, "Your lab report came back and it says you have

  cancer, and Edith, you're not going to live very long."  Edith said, "Why,

  Will Phillips, shame on you.  Why are you so sad?  Do you think God makes

  mistakes?  You have just told me I'm going to see my precious Lord Jesus, my

  husband, and my friends. You have just told me that I am going to celebrate

  Easter forever, and here you are having difficulty giving me my ticket!"

  Dr. Phillips thought to himself, "What a magnificent woman this Edith Burns

  is!"

   

  Edith continued coming to Dr. Phillips.  Christmas came and the office was

  closed through January third. On the day the office opened, Edith did not

  show up. Later that afternoon, Edith called Dr. Phillips and he said he

  would have to be moving her to the hospital. Edith said, "Will, I'm very

  near home, so would you make sure that they put women in here next to me in

  my room who need to know about Easter."

   

  Well, they did just that and women began to come in and share that room

  with Edith. Many women were saved. Everybody on that floor from staff to

  patients were so excited about Edith that they started calling her Edith

  Easter; that is, everyone except Phyllis Cross, the head nurse. Phyllis

  made it plain that she wanted nothing to do with Edith because she was a

  "religious nut". She had been a nurse in an army hospital. She had seen it

  all and heard it all. She was the original G.I. Jane. She had been married

  three times; she was hard, cold, and did everything by the book.

   

  One morning the two nurses who were to attend to Edith were sick.  Edith had

  the flu and Phyllis Cross had to go in and give her a shot.  When she walked

  in, Edith had a big smile on her face and said, "Phyllis, God loves you and

  I love you, and I have been praying for you."

   

  Phyllis Cross said, "Well, you can quit praying for me, it won't work. I'm

  not interested."  Edith said, "Well, I will pray and I have asked God not to

  let me go home until you come into the family."  Phyllis Cross said, "Then

  you will never die because that will never happen," and curtly walked out of

  the room.

   

  Every day Phyllis Cross would walk into the room and Edith would say, "God

  loves you, Phyllis, and I love you, and I'm praying for you."

  One day Phyllis Cross said she was literally drawn to Edith's room like a

  magnet would draw iron. She sat down on the bed and Edith said, "I'm so

  glad you have come, because God told me that today is your special day."

   

  Phyllis Cross said, "Edith, you have asked everybody here the question, 'Do

  you believe in Easter?' but you have never asked me."

   

  Edith said, "Phyllis, I wanted to many times, but God told me to wait until

  you asked, and now that you have asked...."  Edith Burns took her Bible and

  shared with Phyllis Cross the Easter story of the death, burial and

  resurrection Jesus Christ. Edith said, "Phyllis, do you believe in Easter?

  Do you believe that Jesus Christ is alive and that He wants to live in your

  heart?"  Phyllis Cross said, "Oh, I want to believe that with all of my

  heart, and I do want Jesus in my life."  Right there, Phyllis Cross prayed

  and invited Jesus Christ into her heart.

   

  For the first time Phyllis Cross did not walk out of a hospital room, she

  was carried out on the wings of angels. Two days later, Phyllis Cross came

  in and Edith said, "Do you know what day it is?" Phyllis Cross said, "Why

  Edith, it's Good Friday." Edith said, "Oh, no, for you every day is Easter.

  Happy Easter, Phyllis!"

   

  Two days later, on Easter Sunday, Phyllis Cross came into work, did some of

  her duties and then went down tot he flower shop and got some Easter lilies

  because she wanted to go up to see Edith and give her some Easter lilies

  and wish her a Happy Easter.

   

  When she walked into Edith's room, Edith was in bed. That big black Bible

  was on her lap. Her hands were in that Bible. There was a sweet smile on

  her face. When Phyllis Cross went to pickup Edith's hand, she realized

  Edith was dead. Her left hand was on John 14: "In my Father's house are

  many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and

  receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."  Her right

  hand was on Revelation 21: 4: "And God will wipe away every tear from their

  eyes, there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall

  be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."

   

  Phyllis Cross took one look at that dead body, and then lifted her face

  toward heaven, and with tears streaming down her cheeks, said, "Happy

  Easter, Edith--Happy Easter!" Phyllis Cross left Edith's body, walked out of

  the room, and over to a table where two student nurses were sitting. She

  said, "My name is Phyllis Cross. Do you believe in Easter?

 

Is this story true?  Who knows? Does it contain truths? Yes...the truths

of simple faith and conversion. Some find this story about Easter Edith too

much. But then, again, some find the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the

dead a little too much also. For this Easter Sunday, I wish you simple

faith.

 

Happy Easter!

 

Reference:

 

1) Model homily," Good News 27 (04): 134 (Liturgical Publications Inc.,

2875 South James Drive, New Berlin WI 53151) April 2000.

 

Jerry

Fr. Gerard Fuller, o.m.i.

St. William Parish

P.O. Box 367

Gainesville MO 65655

Tel.: 1-417-679-4804