Today's Message: Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord
Acts 10:34, 37-43; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; John 20:1-9
“And he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that He had to rise from the dead.”
It’s Easter: Let us rejoice and be glad! Are we? I have looked forward to Easter all of Lent. I never imagined that the world would be overcome by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lent I planned wasn’t. The Lent that is is hard to get my arms around: Private masses only, being sequestered along with so many, not being able to go to Langley AFB. When will the main onslaught hit? How many loved ones will suffer this dreaded virus? How many will have completed their journey to the Lord? What is the message? Is there joy in the Easter message? Can I find this seemingly lost God?
Even in its most troubled years, nearly everybody in the Soviet Union knew the date of Easter, even though it was forbidden to make a slightest allusion to it in the public media. Is there a disproportionate emphasis on Good Friday and Jesus’ horrible death? But wasn’t that the price for our sins? If so, Easter can seem like an afterthought. We can be very eloquent and gross in our portrayal of the sufferings of Jesus, but tongue-tied when it comes to celebrating the reality of His risen life.
On the one hand, this can lead to the religious practice that gives more importance to saying “no” to the life of this world than to saying “yes” to the life of the next. Mortification takes precedence over celebration. On the other hand, Christians have left aside the celebration of Easter Sunday; the space is left available for Easter bunnies and treats. The traditional Easter greeting in the Greek communities is Christos anesti (Christ has risen) ... to which the reply is Alethos anesti (He is truly risen). This phrase could imprint on our hearts and minds the counterpoint that keeps pace with everything that happens in our life. It can be the response to a litany: The world is a mess, but Christ has risen … our leaders have lost the plot, but Christ has risen ... the church is besieged on every side, but Christ has risen … our family has its share of tragedies, but Christ has risen … my life is in the pits, but Christ has risen.
We can respond to everything and every situation with Christ has risen. That has changed everything. Nothing is the same anymore. And hasn’t COVID-19 filled us with much the same fear the Apostles had when they took Jesus away? We'd better hide … they will come after us soon … where to go … what about our families … will we have our old job back … we thought Jesus would drive out Rome … now Rome and the Jewish authorities are totally in charge and will be vicious to us.
Peter’s Pentecost address in Acts is followed by a portrait of an ideal community of faith: the Holy Spirit has been allowed to take the lead. Luke emphasizes how:
Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb. Her first impression is that Jesus’ body has been stolen because the empty linens were left; something thieves would not take the time to leave behind. Where is He? When the “beloved disciple,” John, sees the empty tomb and linens, he “believes” that Jesus has been raised form the dead and not stolen. But he doesn’t fully understand this. This comes when the Apostles see the risen Lord.
Today we are celebrating the joy of the Resurrection and sadness and worry over the COVID-19 pandemic. Maybe we should ask ourselves another question: What are we ... you and I ... looking for? Like Mary we have heavy hearts and are slow to move. In the early days of this coronavirus a preteen asked, “If Jesus is really God, why doesn’t He just fix all the bad things?” She, like all of us, is caught up in the uncertainties of the day.
But Christ has risen!
Where did the Apostles get the strength to be witnesses in a world that was violent and vicious to people with different beliefs? Where am I getting strength today? Where are the surgeons, doctors, medical staff and nurses getting their strength? Jesus' command was to “love one another as I have loved you.” I can love because I have realized that I am loved. It’s amazing what I can do when I realize my gifts are not meant for me but to spread the Kingdom of God, which is all about love. When I’m absorbed in myself, I can’t hear the “cry of the poor.” I want to make sure that I am the important person … I’m the focal point of the world … I’m the cat’s meow. That’s not what life is about. That is not what Jesus came to tell us. That’s not why Jesus died. He came to save you and me from the sins of anger, hatred, selfishness, greed, violence, lustful thoughts and actions, hurting others ... and making only myself the “be all and end all” of living. That’s not loving … that’s evil, which is why Satan felt that he had won with Jesus' horrific death on the cross. But God has won … Christ has risen. A special Easter song comes from Psalm 118:24: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad.” Could I say this each day when I wake? And if anyone asks why I say this ... it's because Christ has risen and calls me to help Him love today? This is our faith!
So i reflect on:
“‘We proclaim the resurrection of Christ,’ says Pope Francis, ‘when His light illuminates the dark moments of our existence, and we are able to share it with others; when we know when to smile with those who smile, and weep with those who weep; when we accompany those who are sad and at risk of losing hope; when we recount our experience of Faith to those who are searching for meaning and happiness … and there — with our attitude, with our witness, with our life — we say, “Jesus is risen.” With our soul.’
“Neither Peter nor John come to believe in the Resurrection without enduring confusion and uncertainty. But out of the confusion comes clarity. The empty tomb can only mean that Jesus is truly alive — raised and transformed by the Father. If Jesus is truly risen, then so are we. As we were one with Him in His suffering, so are we not one with Him in His risen joy? Alleluia!”
“And he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that He had to rise from the dead.”
It’s Easter: Let us rejoice and be glad! Are we? I have looked forward to Easter all of Lent. I never imagined that the world would be overcome by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lent I planned wasn’t. The Lent that is is hard to get my arms around: Private masses only, being sequestered along with so many, not being able to go to Langley AFB. When will the main onslaught hit? How many loved ones will suffer this dreaded virus? How many will have completed their journey to the Lord? What is the message? Is there joy in the Easter message? Can I find this seemingly lost God?
Even in its most troubled years, nearly everybody in the Soviet Union knew the date of Easter, even though it was forbidden to make a slightest allusion to it in the public media. Is there a disproportionate emphasis on Good Friday and Jesus’ horrible death? But wasn’t that the price for our sins? If so, Easter can seem like an afterthought. We can be very eloquent and gross in our portrayal of the sufferings of Jesus, but tongue-tied when it comes to celebrating the reality of His risen life.
On the one hand, this can lead to the religious practice that gives more importance to saying “no” to the life of this world than to saying “yes” to the life of the next. Mortification takes precedence over celebration. On the other hand, Christians have left aside the celebration of Easter Sunday; the space is left available for Easter bunnies and treats. The traditional Easter greeting in the Greek communities is Christos anesti (Christ has risen) ... to which the reply is Alethos anesti (He is truly risen). This phrase could imprint on our hearts and minds the counterpoint that keeps pace with everything that happens in our life. It can be the response to a litany: The world is a mess, but Christ has risen … our leaders have lost the plot, but Christ has risen ... the church is besieged on every side, but Christ has risen … our family has its share of tragedies, but Christ has risen … my life is in the pits, but Christ has risen.
We can respond to everything and every situation with Christ has risen. That has changed everything. Nothing is the same anymore. And hasn’t COVID-19 filled us with much the same fear the Apostles had when they took Jesus away? We'd better hide … they will come after us soon … where to go … what about our families … will we have our old job back … we thought Jesus would drive out Rome … now Rome and the Jewish authorities are totally in charge and will be vicious to us.
Peter’s Pentecost address in Acts is followed by a portrait of an ideal community of faith: the Holy Spirit has been allowed to take the lead. Luke emphasizes how:
- The community is devoted to the teachings of Jesus given through the apostles.
- Communal life flowed from Jesus’ command to love one another as He has loved them by seeking the spiritual welfare of each person.
- Through the “Breaking of the Bread” they commemorate the Lord’s Supper, showing their dependence on the Lord for their daily sustenance.
- By prayer they keep their focus on heaven.
Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb. Her first impression is that Jesus’ body has been stolen because the empty linens were left; something thieves would not take the time to leave behind. Where is He? When the “beloved disciple,” John, sees the empty tomb and linens, he “believes” that Jesus has been raised form the dead and not stolen. But he doesn’t fully understand this. This comes when the Apostles see the risen Lord.
Today we are celebrating the joy of the Resurrection and sadness and worry over the COVID-19 pandemic. Maybe we should ask ourselves another question: What are we ... you and I ... looking for? Like Mary we have heavy hearts and are slow to move. In the early days of this coronavirus a preteen asked, “If Jesus is really God, why doesn’t He just fix all the bad things?” She, like all of us, is caught up in the uncertainties of the day.
But Christ has risen!
Where did the Apostles get the strength to be witnesses in a world that was violent and vicious to people with different beliefs? Where am I getting strength today? Where are the surgeons, doctors, medical staff and nurses getting their strength? Jesus' command was to “love one another as I have loved you.” I can love because I have realized that I am loved. It’s amazing what I can do when I realize my gifts are not meant for me but to spread the Kingdom of God, which is all about love. When I’m absorbed in myself, I can’t hear the “cry of the poor.” I want to make sure that I am the important person … I’m the focal point of the world … I’m the cat’s meow. That’s not what life is about. That is not what Jesus came to tell us. That’s not why Jesus died. He came to save you and me from the sins of anger, hatred, selfishness, greed, violence, lustful thoughts and actions, hurting others ... and making only myself the “be all and end all” of living. That’s not loving … that’s evil, which is why Satan felt that he had won with Jesus' horrific death on the cross. But God has won … Christ has risen. A special Easter song comes from Psalm 118:24: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad.” Could I say this each day when I wake? And if anyone asks why I say this ... it's because Christ has risen and calls me to help Him love today? This is our faith!
So i reflect on:
- How do I witness my faith in Jesus in ordinary, daily ways?
- Whose witness has led me to a deeper faith in the power of the Resurrection?
- The tomb is empty: Jesus rose. Death, darkness, despair and uncertainty are not the final answer. How am I living and showing this in the COVID-19 pandemic?
- Easter proves the certainty of my faith. How am I living my faith today? Where are my stumbling blocks? Is the coronavirus a source of fear? Do I put this in the God’s hands and am I living with Him in my life?
“‘We proclaim the resurrection of Christ,’ says Pope Francis, ‘when His light illuminates the dark moments of our existence, and we are able to share it with others; when we know when to smile with those who smile, and weep with those who weep; when we accompany those who are sad and at risk of losing hope; when we recount our experience of Faith to those who are searching for meaning and happiness … and there — with our attitude, with our witness, with our life — we say, “Jesus is risen.” With our soul.’
“Neither Peter nor John come to believe in the Resurrection without enduring confusion and uncertainty. But out of the confusion comes clarity. The empty tomb can only mean that Jesus is truly alive — raised and transformed by the Father. If Jesus is truly risen, then so are we. As we were one with Him in His suffering, so are we not one with Him in His risen joy? Alleluia!”
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