Living as easter People

Specific Objectives

At the end of the session, the assembly the participants are expected to:

1. Understand why Christians are called Easter people

2. Appreciate the privilege of being called Easter people

3. Live out the challenges of being Easter people

Expanded Outline

I. Introduction

We always hear the statement that “Christians are Easter people.” And indeed, we truly are. We follow, obey and proclaim Jesus as our Lord because of His resurrection. All Christianity’s testimony hinges on the resurrection of Christ. St. Paul writes:

And if Christ has not been raised, then empty (too) is our preaching; empty, too, your faith. (1 Corinthians 15:14)

Easter is important because the resurrection of Jesus separates Him from all other faith in the world. If Jesus has not resurrected, He will just be a great preacher like all others. It is only Jesus who can claim power over our greatest enemy: death. Through His resurrection, His rising symbolizes also our rising from death caused by our sins.

II. Living as an Easter People

Jesus said to him, Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed. (John 20:29)

On the day of the resurrection, Jesus showed Himself to the apostles. In one situation, He appeared before them in a room and commissioned them. However, Thomas was not there and refused to believe. The following week, Jesus showed Himself again to the apostles and changed Thomas’ mind. After doing this, He said these words:

John, who wrote that gospel, is pertaining in this verse all those believers who will believe eventhough they are not eye witnesses of the resurrection. He is addressing this verse to Christians will believe in the resurrection from their time until the present day. That includes us!

Jesus is telling us that we are blessed because we believe eventhough we were not present at Jesus’ resurrection. This is a great privilege and a challenge. As we believe in Easter, we are also dared to live Easter in our lives.

What does it mean to live as an Easter people? It means that we are people of joy. Our Lord who defeated death also defeated the cause of death: sin. As Easter people, we are called to live a life of victory over sin in our lives.

III. Dealing with Temptations

The way to deal with sin in our lives is knowing how to deal with temptations. Our Catechism defines temptation as “an attraction, either from outside oneself or from within, to act contrary to right reason and the commandments of God (CCC Glossary)”. Temptation is not a sin, but once we allow ourselves to be controlled by it, we fall into sin.

A. Uncontrolled Needs and Wants are the Root of Temptation

Where does temptation come from? How does it come forth and attract us to sin? The answer is this: from our needs and wants. Our needs and wants, if left uncontrolled, can cause temptation and if indulged upon, can cause sin. St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit Order, has some suggestions to control these needs and wants. These tips are found in his Spiritual Exercises, a handbook for spiritual retreats.

St. Ignatius uses three metaphors to help us understand the evil spirit’s tactics:

1. The Military General

First, he compares the evil spirit to a military general. A clever general does not attack his enemy at his strongest points, but in the areas where the enemy is weakest.

In the same way, the evil spirit will use our greatest weaknesses to tempt us. This is why it is important for us to name the specific needs and wants that exert the greatest power over us. The evil spirit will most likely use these needs and wants to tempt us, and they will most likely be our downfall.

For example, we have a very strong need for social approval. This need is a perfectly legitimate and normal one, but taken to the extreme–if we crave social approval almost at all costs–then it becomes a powerful temptation: We may end up resorting to all sorts of means–including immoral ones–just to fill this need. We have to try to identify our most powerful needs and wants in order to resist the temptations that are rooted in them.

2. The Spoiled Brat

However, it is not enough just to be aware of the needs and wants that we are most vulnerable to. It is just as important to master them. Here’s where St. Ignatius’ second metaphor for the evil spirit comes in handy: The spoiled brat (although to be more precise, given his less politically correct times, St. Ignatius actually used the image of a woman). If a spoiled brat wants something, he will make sure to demand it. And he will be relentless in his demands until he gets what he wants.

According to St. Ignatius, the best way to deal with our powerful needs and wants is to treat them exactly the same way you would treat a spoiled brat. You know that giving in to his demands will only further spoil the child. You need to be firm and consistent in refusing to be at the child’s beck and call; sometimes you may even need to ignore it. In other words, you need to discipline the child.

Likewise with our fiercest needs and wants. We tame them by firmly and consistently refusing to yield to them. The more you respond to them, the greater their power grows over you; and the more you ignore them, the weaker they eventually get.

For example, a person developed some kind of addiction to social media. Without realizing it, she began to enjoy–and look for–the “fix” she was getting in the number of likes and comments on her posts. As a result, she found herself beginning to see everything in terms of a potential selfie or post that she can share with her cyber circle of friends and followers. Worse, she found herself going to the extent of distorting the truth just to get the affirmation she had become addicted to.

On her own, she decided to limit her use of social media. She wasn’t completely successful, but she noticed that in time and with practice, she was able to develop greater self-control. In other words, the less she listened to that spoiled brat in her that kept demanding for her Internet affirmations, the weaker its voice and power over her got.

Which of our needs and wants do you have the greatest difficulty controlling? What small first steps can you take to discipline this “spoiled brat” in you?

3. The Secret Lover

Finally, St. Ignatius offers the metaphor of the secret lover to explain to us another strategy of the evil spirit. The seductive allure of a forbidden love affair is most powerful when it is kept a secret. Only in the dark can such a relationship continue and thrive. When it is dragged into the light and revealed in public, its true colors are revealed. Recognizing it as something wrong and perhaps finally feeling shame, the person involved is more likely to end the relationship.

Again there is a striking parallel with the evil spirit and our sinfulness. It is easier to continue sinning if we keep it to ourselves. St. Ignatius, therefore, instructs us that if we seriously want to put a stop to a sinful pattern of behavior, we ought to share our secret sin with another person–someone whom you can trust in spiritual matters.

Do we have a “secret sin”–or even a secret addiction– that continues to thrive because of its secrecy? Can you think of someone that you can share it with so that the person can help you mend your ways?

B. Controlling Our Needs and Wants

How do we put temptation in our lives under control? How do we deal with it when it attacks or even before? Here are three (3) D’s:

1. Detection

Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for (someone) to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

Awareness is the first step in fighting temptation. We should be aware of what are our wants and needs are and when are the times that these desires become out of control. It is important for us to detect and know our weaknesses so we can know when we are vulnerable. When we are aware of them, we will be able to handle them well and be able to guard ourselves from their snares. We can also use this awareness to process ourselves on why we feel and act that way.

2. Discipline

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us. (Hebrews 12:1)

The Bible says that we are like athletes who run the race towards the prize. We are called to persevere and get rid of the burdens that hinder us. To do this, the athlete trains himself everyday to keep himself in top condition. He disciplines himself from vices, food and habits that can ruin his conditioning. For us Easter people, we are also called to discipline ourselves through self-control and mastery.

Self-control is the key to winning over our wants and needs that are leading us to sin. However, self-control is something that is not gained over night. It requires discipline and commitment to avoid that which is leading us to sin. We must be like athletes who become disciplined through constant trainings. We must train ourselves to turn away from any temptation. The best practice and training we can have is to keep a life of prayer and sacraments, our best weapon against temptations.

3. Decide

And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God. (John 3:19-21)

Make a decision to turn away from sin by putting it out into the light. Making a decision should not only be a state of mind. It should lead you to actually do what you have decided upon. One practical aspect of it is allowing someone to be accountable for you. Sharing our struggles to others is putting them into the light. Give those persons the task to check up on you.

Also remember that making this decision to turn away from sin is not a one shot deal. It is an everyday, every moment decision that we have to make. Let us keep on making that decision to choose God over sin, never give up!

IV. Conclusion

Since he was completely human, Jesus also had powerful needs and wants. He also wrestled with hard-to-resist temptations not only in the desert that first time after His baptism, but all throughout His life until His last breath on the cross.

The difference is that our Lord understood Himself: He knew how powerfully deceptive his needs and wants were. He asked for help from both his Father and his disciples when he needed to, as he did in Gethsemane. And finally, he firmly and consistently refused to give in to these needs and wants.

We can take comfort in the thought that as we wrestle with our own weaknesses, the Lord understands us and supports us. Jesus, in His passion, painstaking underwent the process of mastering himself, transcending his instincts and needs, in order to open His heart to free us. As Easter People, let us be set free from all the wretchedness and claiming victory in Jesus Christ.