St. Paul: ‘May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing’
By Deacon Bob Hunt
“We are an Easter people,” St. Augustine of Hippo proclaimed, “and ‘Alleluia’ is our song!” As we approach Easter Sunday and the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord, our hearts are lifted with joy. Joy is the irrepressible character of the Christian. Joy is the fruit of hope. We live in joy because we possess the hope of those whose faith is in the resurrection. Hope is the fruit of truth. We possess the truth of Christ Jesus, which sets us free (John 8:32), not only from sin but also from the chains of the madness and absurdity that holds captive those who live in this world without the truth of the resurrection. The truth of Christ gives us hope, and that hope allows us to live in Gospel joy.
At the Transfiguration, a precursor of the resurrection, where Christ revealed His glory to Peter, James, and John, Jesus was joined by Moses and Elijah. Moses represents the law and Elijah the prophets. Jesus is the fulfillment of both. Jesus, Moses, and Elijah were discussing the exodus Jesus would accomplish in Jerusalem (Luke 9:31).
When we think of exodus, of course, we think of the Exodus, when God freed the Hebrews from the chains of slavery in Egypt. Every year, per God’s instructions, the Jews would celebrate the Passover to remember this central saving act of God in the history of His people. To remember, according to ancient Jewish understanding, is to take an event from the past and make it present today so those gathered over the ages can participate in that event. That is why at every Passover meal, the youngest boy asks the patriarch of the family, “Why is this night like no other night?” Notice, he doesn’t ask, “Why was that night so long ago like no other night?” No, he asks, “Why is this night like no other night?” This cues the patriarch to tell the story of the Exodus. The Exodus is made present so those gathered today may participate in that event.
Just so, Jesus’ exodus, His offering of Himself even to death on a cross (Philippians 2:8) for the sake of our salvation from the chains of slavery to sin, is made present on the altar at every Mass so that we gathered today may participate in that sacrifice. This is the New Covenant established by Jesus. Covenant requires sacrifice, and sacrifice requires blood. Christ was willing to shed His blood for our salvation, and now we participate in that sacrifice at every Mass. The glory of Christ revealed at the Transfiguration is a foretaste, a foretelling of His resurrection, demonstrating that those who participate in His sacrifice will share in His glory.
The Last Supper Jesus celebrated with His Apostles was a Passover meal. Only at this Passover, Jesus did something extraordinary. For centuries the Jews had been celebrating the Passover in remembrance of what God had done for them at the Exodus. Now, Jesus removes the celebration of the Exodus, the central saving act of God in the history of His people, from the meal and replaces it with Himself! “Do this in remembrance of ME!” Jesus created the New Covenant with His own body and His own blood, and we participate in that sacrifice by eating His body and drinking His blood, as He commanded us to do. God desires to be this close with us, this intimate with us. You don’t get more intimate than “Eat my body; drink my blood.”
St. Peter is overjoyed at this experience, so much so that he wants to keep it going. He wants to build tents so that they can all hang out on the mountaintop and enjoy the revelation of Christ’s glory. But that’s not the point of going to the mountaintop. The point of going to the mountaintop and of experiencing Christ’s glory is to then go down from the mountaintop and do the work of sacrifice for the sake of our salvation. Experiencing Christ’s glory will fill us with confidence in His mission and in the truth He teaches us. That truth gives birth to hope, and that hope gives birth to joy. Because we know the truth of Christ, we can live lives of hope, and living lives of hope will empower us to live lives of Gospel joy.
Living a life of Gospel joy in this crazy and messed-up world will cause others to be curious about us, to wonder about us. They will be inspired by our life of joy, so inspired that they will want to ask about it. And the question they will ask us is, “What is wrong with you?” “Why are you always so happy?” “Why are you always smiling?” “Why do you never get out of sorts when something goes awry?” In other words: “What is the reason for your hope?” When they ask us, we get to tell them about Jesus.
1 Peter 3:15 reads: “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.” St. Peter expected the followers of Jesus to live lives of such Gospel joy that others would notice and inquire about the cause for our joy. The cause of our joy, of course, is the hope we have in Jesus. This hope can strengthen us to live in joy, even in the difficult circumstances of our lives: ill health, ill fortune, challenges in our relationships, challenges at work, and even in the face of persecution and death.
St. Paul prays for the Christians in Rome: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). St. Paul had encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus, so he knew that the Lord had risen from the dead. He knew, then, that death does not have the last word, the final say in our lives. Death is not the end but merely the transition to life everlasting in the bosom of the Father.
This truth gave him hope. He believed the promise of Jesus that those who place their faith in Him will not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). That hope became real for St. Paul when he encountered Jesus, and from that point on he lived in that hope, which then empowered him to live a life of Gospel joy, even in the face of persecution, in the face of threats to his life, and in the face of martyrdom, desiring nothing more than to proclaim the truth about Jesus and His promise of new life with God. St. Paul’s prayer is my prayer for us all this Easter season: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.
Update: My March column on immigration inspired consternation among some readers. My claim that immigrants who entered the United States illegally merit being treated with respect and dignity, as Church teaching demands, and my thoughts on what that might mean in terms of policy, was taken by some as support for open borders. It was not. Nothing in my column indicated support for open borders, and neither would it have, since it’s my column and I don’t support open borders. But we live in a politically polarized culture that encourages the notion that, if one supports this, one must oppose that, and vice-versa. We’ve lost a sense of nuance and precision in our political discussion and would do well to get that back. I try carefully to be precise in what I write. I don’t have hidden agendas. And, while I appreciate even critical feedback, it’s only helpful if that feedback speaks to what I actually wrote. Thank you.
