"If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above)
John 20: 1-9
The living Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042025.cfm
At the end of our Catholic funeral liturgy, referred to as the prayer of commendation, the priest stands before the remains of the deceased and prays: “Merciful Lord turn toward us and listen to our prayers. Open the gates of paradise to your servant and help us who remain to comfort one another with the assurances of our faith . . .” I have always been struck by the words asking God to “open the gates of paradise to your servant . . . “We can only say those words because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Today we proclaim what is called the core of the Gospel message, the Kerygma” – that Christ has died and risen and therefore we are no longer held tight by sin and death, but we have the promise for those who believe and live by the Gospel, the “gates of paradise” will be open for us. St. Paul, the great missionary to the Gentiles, constantly preached that message wherever he went. That Jesus Christ who died on a cross, rose from the dead and thereby rescued us from the finality of death. Death no longer has power over us but rather has become a passage to eternal life with God. Sin is forgiveable
What ever happened early that Sunday morning, and whoever
they met along the way, had a profound impact upon their lives. Something
happened to them that they would risk everything – go out to hostile unbelieving
crowds and boldly preach to all who would listen, the truth that Christ is
risen!
So, this Easter day we gather and claim to be his
followers.
Here we go beyond science and reason to the realm of
the supernatural and miraculous. The
Church proclaims that we speak of the miraculous. God's direct intervention in our space and
time as he goes beyond the laws of nature and logic. There would be no other
way to describe the resurrection of Jesus as a truth. Whether it be the New
Testament, the preaching of Paul, the lives of the Saints, the mission of the
Church, all is done because of the resurrection of the Lord and due to the promise,
he made.
In other words, without the truth of the resurrection,
there would be no Christian faith. That
is how central to our claims this event becomes. No other founder of a religion
in history as ever claimed to rise from the dead, nor his followers have
claimed such, except Christians. So, it either makes us lunatics, liars, or
disciples of the risen one.
But we cannot prove the resurrection – it defies
reason, logic and every conceivable law of nature. Dead bodies do not come back
to life. But Jesus now assumes some mysterious, touchable, visible form which
combines spirit and– a form yet to be seen and experienced in eternity.
We will hear
this Easter season of the reaction of the Apostles, of Mary Magdalene, of
Thomas who doubted, of talking angels who questioned visitors at the empty tomb
that early morning, “Why do you seek the living one among the dead?” (Lk 24:
1-10). We will hear of disciples whose lives were instantly transformed
from fear to overwhelming joy, wonder, and bold courage. So convicted were they
that Jesus was alive and eternally present again that no force or threat on
earth could change their minds. When they saw the risen Lord it became a
transforming experience and changed them forever. So, through this event, God
invites us to believe and to be transformed to deeper discipleship and more
courageous faith.
The rising of Christ from the dead gives hope to those
who have died. And if the dead have hope, then the living also have hope. If we
the living have hope, then the death and resurrection of Christ is true.
The great witness we have today in our Gospel story is
that of the empty tomb. Women, named Mary Magdalene and Joanna and men named
Peter and John who could hardly contain their joy and wonder once they came to
conviction – because of an empty tomb. But that alone would not be enough. It
was not a onetime event meant to be recalled through history books but the
beginning of a transforming experience for all believers. It was an invitation to see Christ alive and
present right up to our day and beyond.
We no longer look in empty tombs but in His Church,
His Body – Jesus baptizes, confirms, becomes our food of liberation in the
Eucharist as he will for our newest Elect and candidates this season. Christ
unites in marriage, comforts the dying, forgives sin, chooses and calls in the
priesthood. In those holy sacraments the risen Christ continues his work.
And, in our world today, where there is far too much
agony and not enough ecstasy, many are confused, lost, abandoned, hurt, empty,
despairing, and fearful. Many people are
dead in spirit and mind or numbed by a world which presents promises that
cannot fulfil; that the answer to every problem can be found only in science,
technology, money, or fame. And the war rages in Ukraine as they confront an
ominous and hate-filled dictator who will come to no good end.
The good news of Easter bring a time of hope to us. The invitation to every one of us is to have hope and to share in the life of His Church. God has no limits. We bring this good news to a world that is empty; to replace the agony of meaninglessness, or science and technology alone, of loneliness and rejection, of poverty and sadness with the ecstasy of faith and hope. Let’s pray together that God will bring a healing to humanity and prove himself once again to be our Lord and our God.
Christ is risen indeed !
O God, who on this day,
through your Only Begotten Son,
have conquered death and unlocked for us the path to eternity,
grant that we who keep the solemnity of the Lord's
Resurrection may , through the renewal brought by your Spirit,
rise up in the light of life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity
of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever/
Amen, Alleluia!
(Collect of Mass)
Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia, Alleluia!
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