As we celebrate Jesus' resurrection, our minds turn to his risen body. During the homily on Easter Sunday, my priest spoke about how in our modern society, Christ has no physical body and no earthly voice - besides the ones we're prepared to give him to use. As Christians, we want to be ambassadors for Christ, living examples of the impact that he's had on us, and we hope that our lives serve as an embodiment of his teaching and values. While his sacrifice is greater than anything we could ever do for one another, it doesn't mean that this great act of love can't inspire us to make our own smaller but still significant sacrifices and proclamations of Christ-like love through our acts.
Here are some of the ways that we can embody Christ's qualities in the way we live today.
Serve with humility Christ displayed great humility throughout his life. One example that we remember during this time is the washing of the disciples' feet, (John 13). Inspired by the way that Jesus served humbly and with love, so too should we serve in ways that require us to let go of our pride.
Make sacrifices Our sacrifices are never going to be as great as Christ's but the principle can still apply. Everything has a cost. Whether we sacrifice our time, money, possessions or comfort, each time we are inspired by Jesus' example to give or serve we should consider who is required to make the greatest sacrifice in the situation.
Forgive "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins," Matthew 26:28. Through his death, Jesus enabled our sins to be forgiven and throughout his life on earth he called on his followers to forgive other people when they sinned against them. Forgiving those who have caused us harm or upset can seem at times an impossible exercise. Focusing on Jesus' teaching in this area and how his death is representative of God's mercy will help to remind us how central forgiveness is to our faith, and not just in terms of God's forgiveness of our sins.
Reject sin "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" (Romans 6:1-2). Jesus paid the penalty for our sins and his death enabled us to be forgiven, but that doesn't mean that we can or should give up on turning away from sin. As Paul writes, we should be "those who have died to sin", and we can use the meaning behind Jesus' death to spur us on as we try to reject sinful acts every day.
Resist temptation The days which follow the breaking of our Lenten fast give us an chance to contemplate whether the things we gave up for 40 days and nights are things that we should give up completely. The model that we use for Lenten fasting is one that we can adopt as we strive to resist temptation all year round. Temptation exists outside Lent but by combining the abstinence of certain acts with prayer and almsgiving in the months in between, we can build on the spiritual maturity needed to overcome particular temptations.
