For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God
It is surprising that the Church should give us a reading about our death on Easter Sunday, the day of the resurrection. Yet, this is the case with the second reading - St Paul’s Letter to the Colossians 3:1-4 ‘For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God’
As confusing as it may seem on first reading, on reflection we recognize that it is actually Good News. St Paul is interpreting Jesus’ death and resurrection as also the actuality of our lives, who are baptized in Jesus Christ. Our former selves die with Jesus’ death and we gain a new ‘resurrected life’ in Him, who is in the Father. We become the resurrected Christ while maintaining our physical appearance.
This means that Easter is not only a celebration of Jesus’ triumph over death, but also a proclamation of our own transformation. Through baptism in Christ, we pass from death to life; we are no longer defined by our past selves, our failures, or even by the limitations of this world. Our true life is now ‘hidden with Christ in God,’ a life that draws its meaning, direction, and energy from the risen Lord.
As we journey through the days ahead, we are called to live from this hidden reality—bearing witness to the resurrection not just as a past event, but as a present and ongoing reality within us.
As we reflect on Easter Sunday and Jesus’ resurrection, we must ask ourselves- am I living a resurrected life? The resurrected Jesus walked through walls yet ate broiled fish, revealing that His risen life was both spiritual and deeply human. He was transformed, yet still intimately connected to the world and to His disciples.
In the same way, living a resurrected life means allowing God to transform our lives while remaining fully present in the realities of daily life — living a life of faith, hope and service and showing up with grace in the ordinary moments. To live a resurrected life is not to escape from the world, but a new way of being active within it.
More on this in the days ahead.
Can’t wait to hear more Deacon
It is indeed a mystery that we are transformed after Easter and yet we remain active in our everyday life with the same people we used to interact with in our former life.