Easter (Fr. Vinner)

“IF CHRIST HAS NOT BEEN RAISED, THEN OUR PREACHING IS IN VAIN; AND YOUR FAITH IS IN VAIN”

MY SISTERS AND BROTHERS IN THE LORD,

Christ is risen, alleluia! “They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.” Christ is truly risen! You and I must be witnesses also to these facts: Jesus lived among us and was killed and really died. God raised him from the dead! Jesus is God and Lord of all.

The feast of Easter is celebrating Jesus’ victory over death and mankind’s hope for eternal life. This feast gives us the new hope of our own Resurrection at the end of times and at the same time keeps us one with the living Christ who will be always with us. The theme of today’s Mass includes both proclamation and witness. St Paul tells us that if Jesus is not risen from the dead, our faith be in vain. In the Gospel Mary Magdalene is asked to go and proclaim the Resurrection to all. To the Disciples the Resurrection was a new experience. It was a total transformation and it gave them a new vision of life. They had been witnesses of his suffering and death and during that time they had remained hidden out of fear. Their hope in Jesus was scattered.

The resurrection brought about a complete turnaround and they began boldly to proclaim that Jesus, who died on the Cross, was alive and with them. Later, when they were arrested, persecuted and imprisoned, they rejoiced as they were now even more closely related to the life experience of their Lord through his resurrection.The Easter Sunday was a totally reversal of the image of Good Friday. His death which seemed to be a defeat before the world is now shown as a triumph over sin and death. His death in reality was a passage to new life, to the resurrection of Jesus and hence it was no end in itself. Jesus accepted death in total obedience to his Father that led to his victory.

The Resurrection of Jesus is a mystery which cannot be humanly comprehended. Through it Jesus enters into a new realm of life. He will not die again and his new existence is beyond all understanding. The Risen Jesus enters a completely new way of living. That is why the Gospels are not able to explain the Easter mystery and the Resurrection. They have to use more human terms and speak of the empty tomb, his sudden appearance, eating with them, walking with them, teaching them and commissioning them. One thing is certain that the disciples are aware of his total presence. They know that he is with them and will remain with them. Ultimately the Easter is the celebration of the complete and unending love of the Father for the sake of Humanity. He gave back his son to us for humankind with greater love and with the resurrection Jesus will stay with us forever.

This feast of Easter is also for us the feast of hope which tells us that what happened to Jesus will happen to us too. We too will rise one day with him. This celebration forms the heart of our Christian living. It is in reality our faith and the expectation of the future glory.

Life Messages:
1) Let us live the lives of Resurrection people: Easter gives us the joyful message that we are a “Resurrection people.” Thismeans that we are not supposed to lie buried in the tomb of our sins, evil habits, dangerous addictions, despair, discouragement, or doubts. Instead, we are expected to live a joyful and peaceful life, constantly experiencing the living presence of the Risen Lord in all the events of our lives and amid the boredom, suffering, pain and tensions of our day-to-day life.

2) We need to live new, disciplined lives in the Risen Jesus.Our awareness of the all-pervading presence of the Risen Lord in and around us, and the strong conviction of our own resurrection, help us to control our thoughts, desires, words and behavior. This salutary thought inspires us to honor our bodies, keeping them holy, pure and free from evil habits and addictions. Our conviction about the presence of the Risen Lord in our neighbors and in all those with whom we come into contact should encourage us to respect them, and to render them loving, humble and selfless service.

3) We need to become transparent Christians: We are called to be transparent Christians, showing others through our lives the love, mercy, compassion and spirit of self-sacrificing service of the Risen Jesus living in our hearts.

4) We need to live lives of love in the power of Jesus’ Resurrection: Let us recall that, each time we try to practice Christian charity, mercy and forgiveness and each time we fight against temptations we share in the Resurrection of Jesus.

We are invited to follow these women and these apostles and allow their witness to draw us to faith. Christ is risen! Our own faith is received from others, either directly from people in our lives, or from reading that which has been written by others. Wherever we are in our faith, may this day of the Resurrection of Jesus become more real for us and draw us into the mystery of God’s love for us. Christ is risen. Alleluia.

MAY GOD BLESS YOU,
FR.S.VINNER HGN.