Easter Sunday
A few minutes before the services started, the townspeople were sitting in their pews and talking. Suddenly, Satan, devil appeared at the front of the church. Everyone started screaming and running for the front entrance, trampling each other in a frantic effort to get away from evil incarnate.
Soon everyone had exited the church except for one elderly gentleman who sat calmly in his pew without moving, seeming oblivious to the fact that God's ultimate enemy was in his presence. So Satan walked up to the old man and said, "Don't you know who I am?"
The man replied, "Yep, sure do."
"Aren't you afraid of me?" Satan asked.
"Nope, sure ain't," said the man.
"Don't you realize I can kill you with a word?" asked Satan.
"Don't doubt it for a minute," returned the old man, in an even tone.
"Did you know that I could cause you profound, horrifying, physical AGONY... for all eternity?" persisted Satan.
"Yep," was the calm reply.
"And you're still not afraid?" asked Satan.
"Nope."
More than a little perturbed, Satan asked, "Well, why aren't you afraid of me?"
The man calmly replied, "Been married to your sister for the last 48 years."
Don’t be afraid for Jesus is Risen!
The feast of Easter is the confirmation of our faith. Our faith is deeply rooted and finds its real meaning in the resurrection of Jesus. St Paul says that, if Christ is not raised, then all our believing is in vain. Hence our faith tells us that Good Friday and the death of Jesus is not the climax of Holy Week. It is only a path in the achievement of the final resurrection. The cross was the high point of Jesus’ gift of himself to the father for our sakes and the Father returns the gift of resurrected Jesus to us. Accordingly today’s mass invites us with the invitation to proclaim the good news and be witnesses to the risen lord.
We find a similar theme in both of the Second Readings and the Gospel. In his letter to the Colossians, Paul tells us that if we have been raised with Christ, we must seek the things that are from above where Christ dwells in Heaven. We should set our minds on spiritual things, not on worldly things.
The cover of the April 8, 1966 issue of The Time did not have pictures of any personalities or world events. It had only three words printed on it: Is God Dead? As early as the Oct 22, 1965 issue, Time had printed an article on the “death-of-God theologians.” Among them was Thomas J.J Altizer, an associate professor of religion at Atlanta’s Emory University who wrote, “We must recognize that the death of God is a historical event: God has died in our time, in our history, in our existence.” What compounded the issue was the discovery in December 1945 of fifty-two Coptic extra Biblical texts at Nag Hammadi in Egypt. These documents were translated into English by 1970. These texts presented the life, death and resurrection of Jesus rather differently than the traditional gospels. The Gospel of Thomas, The Gospel of Peter, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, The Gospel of Judas and other extra-biblical literature do not take the resurrection of Jesus for granted. Fictional accounts of Jesus’ life like the Da Vinci Code, and the more recent documentary on the tomb of Jesus by Hollywood director James Cameron only add fuel to the fire. If what the above scholars, archaeologists, and film-makers propose is true, then this morning we are wasting our time; my homily is empty rhetoric and this Eucharist an empty ritual. I too have paused at times and asked myself the question, “What if Jesus did not rise from the dead?” But when I weigh the evidence, my doubts vanish. Because, even after 2000 years, in the city of Lima, a community has come together this morning precisely because they believe that Jesus is risen. I do not need an evidence of the resurrection. We are the evidence of the resurrection. Moreover, the faith of this community is supported by those who have laid down their lives to witness to the truth of the resurrection. Tens of thousands of people over the centuries have made heroic sacrifices, and have chosen asceticism, missionary work, suffering, foreign lands, persecution, suffering and even death to bear witness to Christ. People do not do such things for a lie – not for 2000 years. The fact that the Church has not only survived through dark times and leaders, but that it has produced holy men and women like Perpetua, Felicity, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Francis of Assisi, self-sacrificing heroes like Thomas Moore, Maxmillian Kolbe, Archbishop Oscar Romero, Sister Dorothy Stang and Mother Teresa, is a witness to the power of the resurrection. In faith, then, with two billion Christians all over the world, this Easter morning we recall the resurrection of Jesus.
The scripture readings recount to us the many appearances of Jesus after his resurrection. And there are common strands in each of these readings. For example, first, Before the actual encounter with the risen Jesus, there is such hopelessness in their lives. The three women who came early to the tomb early and their primary question was, “who will roll back the stone?” Mary Magdalene in the gospel according to John is in despair because she cannot find the body of Jesus. The disciples on the road to Emmaus looked downcast. This is where most of the extra-biblical literature end. How tragic! But in the gospels, that is only part of the story. After pain, suffering and death comes the “good news.” Jesus is Risen! Gloom gives way to excitement, despair to hope, death to life. He is alive! Alleluia! Second, some disciples greeted the news about the resurrection of Jesus with some scepticism. In the gospel of Mark, the risen Jesus rebukes the disciples for their unbelief. Thomas refused to believe till he touched Jesus. In the gospel of Luke, Jesus had to eat a piece of baked fish to prove that he was not just a ghost. The initial scepticism gave way to undaunted faith. Once the disciples believed they became powerful witnesses of Jesus.
Three things for us to think about
1. One of my students in religion class expressed his difficulty with the resurrection. He said, “How can a dead person come back to life?” And I said, because human beings cannot kill God. They killed God’s human form. In the 19th century the philosopher Nietchze said, “God is Dead.” But God is eternal. The followers of the “death- of-God” philosophers and theologians are like spoilt children throwing pebbles on the Sun hoping to douse its flames. Human beings cannot kill the source and fountain of life.
2. By trying to kill God, human beings tried to make God a part of our story. We wanted to drag God into the muck of sin and misery. But Easter is a celebration of a God who makes us part of God’s story. We celebrate the fact that we do have to look forward to death. We look forward to life. If we really understood the implication of the resurrection of Jesus, we would go on our knees and worship the risen Jesus. This Eucharist provides us with that opportunity. Through this Eucharist we thank God for making us a part of God’s eternal life.
3. But the implication of Easter is not merely in the future. God calls us to live our present life not as if Christ was betrayed, or dead. Like the disciples, we are called to live with the conviction that God is alive. We are, then, an Alleluia people! We set aside the culture of death and embrace the culture of life. We fly the banner of love, peace, justice, compassion, forgiveness, fidelity and hope. This is best way to bear witness to the resurrection of Jesus.
Today on Easter Day let us thank God for the gift of the risen Jesus given once again to us. The Resurrected Jesus gives his message of peace to all the disciples every time he meets them and begins to teach them. This same message is given to us today as we celebrate his rising from the dead. We pray that this peace will remain in our hearts always to make us his messengers in the world of today.
