Experiencing The Risen Life 

How do we know we are alive by grace and sharing in Christ’s own divine life? 1Peter 1: 3-9 tells us we know it when we see ourselves living in a way that cannot be explained without it. 

This letter was written to Christians facing persecution. It tells them that their fear itself is an experience of their faith, because in spite of it, they are remaining faithful. “ 

You rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith… tested by fire… may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 

To our human way of perceiving things, the visible threat of death is a lot more real than the invisible promise of eternal life. But the point of the letter is that if we choose to remain faithful, the experience of believing is just as real as the experience of fearing death. We experience the promise of eternal life, not just as words of Jesus handed down to us, but as words Jesus is speaking now in our own hearts. 

How do we know he is speaking? We know it because we have enough certitude in faith to die for the sake of the promise. The deep certitude we experience (without necessarily feeling it) cannot be explained except by the divine gift of faith. We know that we know. And we know that nothing human can explain the fact that we know. Our willingness to die requires as the “condition for its possibility” the reality of our faith in Christ’s promise. That is when we know our faith is real. As Karl Rahner has said, “We do not know we believe in the two birds in the bush until we let go of the one bird in our hand.” 

Peter’s letter makes the point: “Even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice… for you are receiving [and experiencing] the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” By his fruits in our heart, we know him. 

So we know that we are sharing in Christ’s divine life when we find ourselves acting in a way that can only be explained by divine faith, hope, and love. We do not have to face death for this. We experience it whenever we let go of any “bird in the hand” for the sake of what is promised by the Voice in the burning bush. This is the role and the experience of the prophets, who live in counter-cultural ways inspired by the voice of God in their hearts. When we go beyond “what everybody does,” we know our faith is personal—that we ourselves are listening and responding to the living God. Then we can personally “give thanks to the Lord,” for we ourselves know that “he is good, his love is everlasting.”  

Today’s Psalm Response (Psalm 118) puts into words the spontaneous response it evokes: “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting.” 

Prayer Prompt: What do I do that cannot be explained except by my faith in Jesus Christ? Are there things I do that I know I would not do unless I were motivated by faith, even though other people might do them for other motives? 

— Fr. David M. Knight

View today’s Mass readings, Lectionary #43, on the USCCB website here

Fr. David M. Knight (1931-2021) was a priest of the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee, a prolific writer, and a highly sought after confessor, spiritual director, and retreat master. He authored more than 40 books and hundreds of articles that focus primarily on lay spirituality and life-long spiritual growth.