1 Cor 15:12-20 / Luke 8:1-3
In life, we need to have a direction so as to keep moving forward.
And there can be a direction only when there is meaning in what we are doing here and now.
And that meaning comes from our beliefs about the present and that shapes our future.
In the first reading, St. Paul emphasized on the teaching about the Resurrection.
There were some who doubted the truth of the Resurrection.
St. Paul retorted that if there is no truth about the Resurrection, then Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, and preaching and believing about the Resurrection is useless.
Furthermore, if Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, then we are still in our sins, and all who have died in their sins would have perished.
But Jesus Christ has in truth been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep.
So our hope in the Risen Lord Jesus is not just in this life only, but also for an eternal future.
In the gospel, among those who followed Jesus, besides the Twelve, there were also women and others who provided for them out of their own resources.
They followed Jesus because they believed in Him, and hence they had a meaning and direction in life.
We too need to believe in the truth of the Resurrection and that Jesus is our only Saviour.
He is our hope for the present as we journey on into our eternal future.