Glory in the Resurrection - the Promise of God the Father

It is never too soon to sing the Song of Glory; He is Risen, Alleluia!  A kaleidoscope of Sacred Scripture, sometimes overlooked, but forever will guide to the promise God vowed to save us from death. 

The bible is not just a collection of books that one might choose to read as in a library, but a continuum of God’s plan to redeem the human race from the throes of sin.  Beginning with creation in Genesis to these words from Revelation; “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.  The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more;”  the following are excerpts from this collection of narratives describing God’s Plan to share His life and love with us. 

Fall of man: “Never again will I doom the earth because of man, since the desires of man’s heart are evil from the start, nor will I ever again strike down all living beings as I have done.”  “As the bow appears in the clouds, I will see it and recall the everlasting covenant between God and all living  beings - all mortal creatures that are on earth.”  “God told Noah;   This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all mortal creatures that are on earth.”  (Gen. 8: 21a), 9: 16 - 17).

A sign that goes deeper than the obvious; it is the beginning of the promise of redemption.

The call of Abraham:  “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you:  I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.  All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you.”  (Gen. 12: 2 - 3).  Through Abraham and all the descendants following the Lord is preparing for the Incarnation, which will complete our redemption through the Resurrection. 

Moses, in a dialogue with the Lord, asked “when I go to the Israelites and say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you, if they ask me, “What is his name?  what am I to tell them?”  God replied, “I AM who am.  Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites;  “I AM sent me to you.”  (Ex;  4: 13 - 14).  Moses gathered all the community and spoke of the meal they would share in common.  “The lamb shall not be eaten raw or boiled, but roasted whole.”  “This is how you are to eat it; with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand, you shall eat like those in flight.  It is the Passover of the Lord.  For on this same night I will go through Egypt, striking down every first-born of the land, both man and beast, and executing judgement on all the gods of Egypt-I the Lord.” “Seeing the blood on the doorposts, I will pass over you; thus, when I strike the land of Egypt, no destructive blow will come upon you.”  (Ex. 12: 9, 11 -  13).  This is the most profound sign of the Cross, where Jesus parallels Moses and the exodus from sin culminating on the Cross at Calvary.

But Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping.  And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white siting there.  They said to her, “Woman why are you weeping?”  She said to them, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they have laid him.”  When she had said this, she turned around “and saw Jesus there but did not know it was Jesus.  Jesus said to her, “Mary!”  She turned to him and said, “Rabbouni,” which means teacher.  (Jn. 20: 11 - 16).  

The Glory of the Resurrection comes about through the words of Sacred Scripture, fulfilling God’s Promise of Redemption. 

Ralph B. Hathaway, Lent/Easter 2021