Alleluia, Happy Easter!
Today is the feast of all feasts of the Holy Church, Easter Sunday, remembering Jesus’ victory over death and sin. It is our happiest day of the year because of God’s promise of salvation for us, who believe by doing His divine Will.
Today’s epistle from the letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians encourages the people to celebrate by becoming new creations in Christ Jesus, that is, Christ has already died to sanctify and make us holy, and St. Paul is reminding us of our own calling as holy ones of God. When St. Paul says, “purge out of the old leaven,” this old leaven represents sin, and it means that we must get rid of all our sinfulness and return to God.
Sometimes we are skeptical to accept the truth that by the power of Christ’s resurrection, we will never free ourselves completely and totally of sin because cleansing our lives of sin is a lifetime struggle and process. However, we need to cooperate with God’s grace to fully strive to conform to the image of Jesus Christ, which is indeed possible. Many sinners converted to the Lord and became Saints because they were open to take that path to holiness and completely turn themselves to God. Though we are constantly in battle against Satan, we must wage a spiritual warfare by being close and faithful to God throughout our lives. Our weakness and failures can be removed for ourselves to be revived from our old selves by being united in the paschal mystery of Jesus.
The gospel today summarizes the story about Mary Magdalene and other disciples who went to where Jesus was buried with the intention of anointing the body in the morning on the first day of the week. They were surprised that the big stone that covers the tomb, had already been rolled back. Jesus’s body was not found inside the sepulcher. Let us discover other interesting parts of this Easter gospel pericope:
First, there was an appearance of this angel, “who they saw as a young man sitting on the right side” which utterly amazed these women upon entering the tomb. As we would think and believe, the absence of Jesus’ body in the tomb contributed much to their belief in Jesus’ promise that He would rise again, and this first reaction of anxiety and confusion slowly disappeared.
Second, the presumed angel said to them, “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; He is not here,” an explanation of what happened to Jesus’ body. They sought Jesus but He was not there. Maybe they were seeking the crucified Jesus, who had been buried a few days before, but they should be seeking the risen Jesus! Since they were slow to believe the promise of His resurrection, which they shouldn’t have, the angel thus stresses that the promise had indeed been fulfilled.
Third, the angel in conclusion told them, “But go and tell his disciples and Peter, He is going before you to Galilee, there you will see Him, as he told you.” And now the angel gives these women a divine commissioning to be the first witnesses to tell others about the resurrection of Christ, something else they surely did not expect! Despite their fear, St. Mark doesn’t in any way indicate that these women themselves were disbelieving. In fact, one can only conclude that it was their faith that overcame their fear and eventually led them to go and tell the others what they had seen and heard.
What can we learn from their example and witnessing? Well, perhaps you have been afraid to tell others about the risen Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps you have even begun to doubt your own faith at times. Just know this, that being afraid doesn’t mean you have no faith, even if it may indicate a weak faith. The real question for you is this: Will you allow your fears to conquer your faith, or will your faith win out in the end? The Risen Jesus calls to us: Do not be afraid. Die with me, so that with me you may have life!
(For those who come to the baptismal waters tonight, Jesus truly makes them one with Him, in His dying and rising. Because Baptism is our participation in not just the death of Jesus Christ, but also His resurrection. Baptism is not just our participation in His burial, into the waters of death, but also our participation in His resurrection from the waters of death through the power of the Holy Spirit.)
For those who renew their baptismal promises, Jesus promises that we can grow deeper still, into union with him. When we were baptized into Christ, we die to our old ways, die to our old selves, to that “leaven life” mentioned by St. Paul in the first epistle today. Then we are blessed to be His new creation becoming adopted sons and daughters of God.
Imagine how differently we would act to believe in the “empty tomb” which we have found in the written gospel of Jesus. Today, the risen Lord is speaking with us! If we remember and live out His words, then we welcome a renewed relationship with Him. How differently we would then treat our parents, our children, our spouse, our classmates, our friends, and our enemies. How differently we would treat the people who sit beside us in the pew, the people we see in the church every week but to whom we never talk, the people who don’t look, act, or think the way we do. How differently we would treat the poor and the homeless. Each time we speak with one another, we “see” Christ, we “hear” Jesus. How different our world would be.
We are all on the journey to Easter Sunday together! We have the promise of our rising again to new life with Christ Jesus! Our new and eternal life with Christ Jesus doesn’t begin after we die our earthly death; it begins the moment we are baptized.
This life-changing encounter with the risen Lord ought not to be thought of as the privilege of the few, but an invitation to all. We are invited to renew our personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter us.
On this Easter Sunday, let us desire to join with the many who have not seen, but have believed, because they have encountered Jesus. Let us be genuine witnesses of the Resurrection! Let us enjoy the celebration of life in faith that is being renewed, celebrated, and shared, with such joy.
Happy Easter!
Fr. Arlon, osa