"The Resurrection is not a single event, but a loosening of God's power and light into the earth and history that continues to alter things, infusing them with the grace and power of God's own holiness," writes Megan McKenna in this illuminating work on the most transformative event in the lives of Christians. "It is as though a door was opened, and what poured out will never be stopped, and the door cannot be closed. Jesus Christ,'the first born from the dead,' goes before us, and we follow after him, and in our baptisms we are continuing, exchanging, and transforming our life at birth into the life of being born in the waters of the tomb and the breath of the Spirit of God. This life frees us from fear, from insecurity, from meaninglessness and from the powers of sin, evil, injustice, and death itself." The author, who was made an Ambassador of Peace by Pax Christi in 2001, has written 15 books including The New Stations of the Cross.

McKenna examines the Scriptural accounts of the Resurrection in Mark, Matthew. Luke, John, and the Acts of the Apostles. She comes to the conclusion that this event is the defining mystery of Christianity and "an endless source of awe, power, wisdom and strength." For believers, resurrection is God's work and the means whereby love triumphs over death. McKenna writes enthusiastically about Baptism as the Sacrament of Resurrection and the source of a Christian's commitment to the Crucified and Risen Lord.

Perhaps the most important dimension of And Morning Came is its delineation of the many ways people can live the resurrection life right now as individuals, within the Christian community, and in a world convulsed by violence, suffering, pain, and injustice. With quotations and illustrative material by Jurgen Moltmann, Daniel Berrigan, Simone Weil, Thomas Merton, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Leonardo Boff, and many others; McKenna challenges us to be the loving, compassionate, and transforming presence of Christ to all people in our lives, both near and far away.

The three practices at the core of resurrection living are forgiveness, peace, and nonviolent resistance to evil. God chooses especially to walk with the poor, the victims of violence and injustice, the widows and the orphans, and we are expected to do the same: "In the third century, these words are found in the Didascalia Apostolorum: 'Widows and orphans are to be revered like the altar.' The presence of God lingers most strongly among those whose hearts are beaten down by the callousness of human beings and who find themselves pushed to the edges of life, on the borders, running from bombs, landless, homeless, hungry, and without health care because of preemptive strikes and sanctions enforced for decades out of vindictiveness and greed." Read McKenna and you will find plenty more examples of the resurrection spirit in the lives of those who are seeking to practice justice, love, solidarity, and compassion.

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