Christians are "citizens of
another city," but this is not an “alienation” from the reality of this
world. Indeed, by witnessing with their lives their being "new men"
they can promote the transformation of society.
This
is the 'meaning' of Easter, on which Benedict XVI invited the 25
thousand people in St. Peter's Square to reflect during his general
audience.
The meaning of Easter lies in the "true understanding of
the resurrection": it is not “a simple return to the previous life, as
was the case for Lazarus, but it is something completely new and
different”, it "is the door to a life no longer subject to
the lapsing of time, a life immersed in God's eternity in the
resurrection of Jesus begins a new condition of human being, that
enlightens and transforms our daily journey and opens a qualitatively
different and new future for all 'humanity'.
In this context Saint Paul links the resurrection of
Christians to that of Jesus and shows how we must live the Paschal
Mystery in our daily life. In his Letter to Colossians, he
says, "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that
are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your
minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."
"At
first glance, reading this text, it might seem that it intends to
foster contempt of earthly realities, that it is inviting us to forget
about this world of suffering, injustice, sin, to live in advance of a
heavenly paradise. The thought of heaven in this case would be a kind of alienation. "
But to grasp the true meaning of these statements, they should not be separated from the context. What
Paul "means by things of above” that the Christian must seek, and the
things on the earth, which he must guard against”.
The things of the
earth that are necessary to avoid are “impurity, immorality, passions,
evil desire and greed that is idolatry. We must allow the
insatiable desire for material goods, selfishness, the root of all sin
die within us "because they belong to" the old man, of which the
Christian must divest himself, to vest himself in Christ. "
The "things above", that the Christian is required to
seek "is concerned with what belongs to the new man": it is "the
feelings of tenderness, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience,
forbearing one another and forgiving one another. But above all these things being vested in charity, which unites all of these things in a perfect manner. Thus St. Paul, is far from inviting Christians, each of us to escape from the world in which God has placed us. It
is true that we are citizens of another city, our true home, but we
must travel the path to this goal every day on this earth. "
"And this is the way we transform not only ourselves, but
we transform the world, we give the earthly city a new face to
encourage the development of man and society according to the logic of
solidarity, goodness, in profound respect for the inherent dignity of each person.
Of the virtues that must accompany Christian life "at the
summit there is charity, to which all others are related as the source
and the matrix. It summarizes and condenses the things of
heaven: charity, in faith and hope, is the great rule of Christian life
and defines the inner nature".
Every Christian, therefore, if he lives the experience of
the resurrection, "is a new leaven for the world, giving themselves
wholeheartedly to the most urgent and most just causes, as evidenced by
the testimonies of the saints."
"The expectations of our time are also many”.
We Christians must be witnesses of this bright new life that Easter brought. Easter
is therefore a gift to accept ever more deeply in the faith, to operate
in any situation, with the grace of Christ according to God's logic,
the logic of love. "