We celebrate today the most important Feast of the Liturgical Year. The day Christ our Lord broke the chains of death and rose in triumph from the grave. He did this, not for Himself, but for all of us. He wants us to share in His great victory over sin and death. Christ’s resurrection is the miracle of all miracles, in which Jesus called Himself back from the dead by His own power.
Though, the elders and the Jewish people denied Christ’s Resurrection, they even went as far as bribing the soldiers to deny it. However, the truth of the resurrection is proclaimed and is believed even after two thousand years. No matter the opposition, it is obvious that Christ is alive.
Even in our days we still have people who question the veracity of the resurrection just because it was a humble and a hidden event. Jesus didn’t appear in the market square, humiliating those who humiliated Him. He only appeared to those with whom He broke bread and spoke words of peace.
In today’s readings, for instance, we have the testimonies of Peter and John who declare that they had direct experience of the Risen Lord. Therefore, it is Christ’s intention to actually saddle the Apostles, and all of us Christians today, with the responsibility and obligation to tell the world the truthfulness of His resurrection.
To further prove this truthfulness of what the Apostles taught and preached, they even gave up their lives. We too must be ready to suffer in order to prove the reality and truthfulness of Christ’s resurrection. We must do this most especially by our ways of life, by not allowing sin to dominate us again.
St Paul tells us today that along with Christ, we too have risen to a new life in the spirit through our baptism, and so from now on we should live with our eyes fixed on heaven and not on earth. Only in doing this, we can prove to the world that Christ is truly risen!
In the same vein, just as Jesus rose from the grave, we are called to also rise from our graves to a new life. We must rise from the grave of sin. We must rise from the grave of laziness in prayers and laziness in studying of the word of God. We must rise from the grave of ungodly places we often visit. We must rise from the grave of ungodly and bad companies we often keep. We must rise from the grave of immorality and waywardness. We must rise from the grave of drug and excessive alcohol. We must rise from the grave of cultism and secret society, etc.
My dear people of God, we must also take note of the fact that Jesus did not appear to just anybody after His resurrection. He appeared only to those who valued Him. Take for instance, He appeared to the two men who were going to Emmaus, because they were thinking and talking about Him. He also appeared to His disciples in upper room who were sorrowing for Him. He appeared to Mary Magdalene who revealed that selfless love never ends because the death and the physical separation of Jesus never diminished her love for Him. Again, Christ appeared to John the Beloved who loved Him so much to the extent Jesus gave him the precious gift of His mother, the Blessed Mother. Jesus also appeared to Caiaphas, but He never appeared to Pilate or the Jewish authorities. Christ only appeared to those who loved Him: those who were thinking and talking about Him, those who are longing for Him.
Therefore, for us too to experience the power of Christ’s resurrection and to share the abundance grace of Easter, we must always think about Christ and we must love Him wholeheartedly. That is only time we too can have personal experience of the power of resurrection and have a meaningful Easter Celebration.
Another important lesson is that the resurrection of Jesus also manifests the power of truth. Truth doesn’t die. All Christ’s enemies tried all their possible best to get rid of the name “Jesus”. But the truth prevailed. The Jewish authorities used treachery to condemn Jesus; they falsely accused Him; after His death, His grave was covered with a very big stone, thinking that would preventing Him from rising. As if that was not enough, they bribed the soldiers to silence the truth about His resurrection. However, nothing can cover the truth about Jesus’ resurrection. The truth of His resurrection is proclaimed and is believed, even after two thousand years.
Today, billions even trillions of people are calling this same name “Jesus”, the name they wanted to get rid of. Thousands of people are going on pilgrimage on a daily basis to visit where Christ lived, where He was crucified and buried. People go there to adore Him even after His death over 2,000 years ago. Though the crucifixion and the death of Jesus seemed to assert the triumph of evil over good, however His resurrection proclaims emphatically that good will ultimately triumph over evil no matter what. Hence, we are not to be tired of doing good (Gal 6:9).
Summarily, the message of Easter to all, and in particular, to us Christians is optimistic. Bad situation does not last forever. No situation in life is hopeless for those who trust in God (Gen 18:14). With God, our stories can change again. It may be punctuated by sorrows and tears but it will end in glory. Psalm 30:11 says, “no matter how long the night lasts, joy comes with the morning.” Therefore, in our personal life we should see every failure as a Good Friday. In the journey in life, we should never lose hope because there is always a resurrection after the Good Friday. Remember, Jesus suffered grievously on Good Friday, but on Easter Sunday He rose gloriously. We too can rise again. God can transform our disappointments into promotion if only we can humble ourselves before Him and ask for His mercy.
And above all and most importantly, Christ’s resurrection reminds us that we, like Christ, will also rise one day. The resurrection reminds us that the life of a believer has only one kind of end, a glorious end. This is a news of hope for us all. Life emerged after the grave.Therefore, let us belong to the Lord in this life so that we will be more fully united with Him in heaven.
May we all experience the power of resurrection over every aspect of our lives. Amen!
Remain blessed.
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