EASTER SUNDAY
5 APRIL 2015
What
happened to Jesus on Good Friday was very public. He was betrayed in a garden by one of his
friends and dragged before the Sanhedrin and accused of “making himself equal
to God.” The religious leaders took him
to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, and incited the large crowd to demand
his crucifixion. He suffered
humiliation, shame, and horrible pain in front of witnesses on the hill of
execution outside the city walls of Jerusalem.
Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin, arranged for his burial
with the women who had followed him from Galilee. There were many witnesses to what happened on
Good Friday
However,
there are no witnesses to what happened to Jesus today. On this day, his followers have to connect
what they see with what they believe.
Mary Magdalene sees that the tomb is empty and believes that someone has
stolen his body. Peter sees that the
burial cloths are wrapped up neatly inside the tomb and believes that the tomb
is empty. The beloved disciple sees that
the tomb is empty, and connects the dots.
Having seen Lazarus emerge from the tomb bound in his burial cloths and
destined to die again, the beloved disciple believes that Jesus has been freed
from the bonds of death. With the gift
of faith, he sees and believes in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead.
During
these last two days, we too have seen the passion and cross of Jesus Christ in
the major Liturgies of the Sacred Paschal Triduum. Those rituals have invited us to connect the
sufferings and cross of Jesus Christ with those sufferings and crosses which we
carry in our lives. Today, we hear the
risen Lord speaking to us in the Word and see his real presence in the
Eucharist. On Easter Sunday, he invites
us to put ourselves in the shoes of the beloved disciple and believe in the
power of the resurrection. He invites us
to believe that suffering, the cross, and death itself will not have the final
words. He invites us to believe that we
too can be transformed by the power of the resurrection.
In his
resurrection, Jesus Christ was so transformed that even his closest disciples
did not recognize him. As they accepted
the gift of faith, his resurrection transformed them also. Look what happened to Peter. During the earthly ministry of Jesus, Peter
showed signs of weakness. He hesitated
to throw his net on the other side of the boat on when Jesus called him. He tried to talk Jesus out of his role as a
suffering servant. He fell asleep in the
Garden at Jesus’ darkest hour and denied knowing him three times. After believing in the power of the
resurrection, Peter is transformed. He
guides the infant Church with a firm hand.
He breaks Jewish ritual laws and baptizes a pagan, Cornelius, along with
his family. He boldly proclaims the
truth of Psalm 118 that Jesus is the stone rejected by the builders and has
become the cornerstone of a living temple.
Last night at the Easter Vigil, five members
of our community renounced the power of Satan in their lives, professed faith
in God, entered the watery tomb of Baptism, and emerged one with Jesus Christ
with all their sins forgiven. Now, we
are invited to renew the promises of our Baptism. In renewing our promises, we trust in the
power of the resurrection to transform us.
We trust that Easter Sunday will open our eyes to see what the beloved
disciple believed: Jesus Christ has been
raised from the dead. Because of his
resurrection, we can throw out all the old yeast of corruption and wickedness. We can carry on our lives of faith with new
vigor and strength. Death has no power
over Jesus Christ. And death no longer
has power over us!
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