The Easter effect

In 1975, the president of Intel, Gordon Moore, estimated that the number of transistors in Integrated Circuit would double every two years.  This came to be known as Moore’s law which was proven to be correct for 37 years.  So, between 1975 and 2012, the number of transistors in an integrated circuit doubled eighteen times to about 250,000 times what was possible in 1975.  So, our electronic devices became smaller and smaller and had more and more capability.  This eventually led to cell phones and laptop computers which weren’t even conceived in 1975.  It has amazed even those very familiar with the industry.  It has impacted our day to day lives in many ways.  Today, many cannot even conceive what life would be like without a cell phone.

After Jesus rose from the dead, the news of the Resurrection drove the growth of the church for almost three hundred years.  During this time, Christianity grew from a thousand or so in 33 AD to about ten million by the year 312 when Constantine made it the official church of the Roman empire.  Much like Moore’s law regarding semiconductors, this phenomenal growth meant that the number of Christians doubled about every twenty years for almost 300 years, going from 1000 to 10 million.  And this growth occurred during times when its leaders were being martyred and Christians couldn’t even meet in public.

On Holy Saturday, the Wall Street Journal ran a two-page article titled: “The Easter Effect.”   It said: “The first Christians were baffled by what they called “the Resurrection”.  Their struggle to understand it brought about a revolution in their way of life and astonishing success for their faith.”  That article asks: “How did this happen?  How did a ragtag band of nobodies from the far edges of the Mediterranean world become such a dominant force?”  The article attributes it to their belief in the Resurrection and to their witnesses.

In today’s Gospel, when Jesus appeared to his disciples, we see a fragmented group of believers with no plan, no promise, no program, no youth ministry, no social justice committee, and no buildings.  Frightened and disturbed, they were locked up in the upper room.

This terrified little band huddled in the corner of a room had only one thing going for it: the risen Christ.  In the final analysis, this is a story about how the risen Christ pushed open the bolted door of a church with nothing.  The risen Christ enters the fearful chambers and fills the place with his own life and simply asks his disciples:  Got anything to eat?

The gospel is convincing and reassuring. It is convincing because it shows ordinary people behaving just the way we do. We too know of the promises God has made down through the centuries. We know how those promises were kept. But owing to our human frailty and lack of faith, we still do not put our full trust in God’s promises. Like the disciples, we still approach the promise of eternal life with questions and troubled hearts, perhaps even terrified at times. 

What would we have done if we had been there in the first century and heard this news directly from one of his disciples?  Would we have believed?  Would we have been one of the Jews and Gentiles who became Christian?   Is Jesus resurrection old news to us?  Are we no longer shocked and baffled by it?   

As a Christian community of believers that have experienced the risen Lord, we are not to sit around locked in our churches feeling warm and cozy.  In today’s readings and at Eucharist, we can experience our own personal “Easter effect” when we meet the risen Lord. Like the disciples, we have him here with us through the scriptures and in the breaking of the bread. 

Like the early Christians, we can convincingly tell everyone that we believe in the resurrection of Jesus.  It should be easier for us to spread the faith today than it was for them.  Our world is hungry for the truth, just as it was in the time of Jesus. 

Many of us are very blessed to have had our faith passed down to us through many generations.  But, though this process, we might have lost the wonder and the amazement of our faith.  Today, as you receive the risen Jesus in the Eucharist, I would encourage you to meditate on what you are receiving.  Be amazed when you receive the risen Christ.  Ask him to help you on your journey towards eternal life.