HE IS RISEN! Click here if you would like to view the Easter Vigil Mass. It will be available by early Sunday morning. Can you imagine what it would have been like to be Mary of Magdala or the other Mary, walking to the tomb of Jesus? The only hope you saw for the world was Jesus and now he was dead. The women went to anoint a dead body. They did not yet understand that Jesus would rise. You and I know, as we are hearing of his crucifixion, we know of his resurrection, so the pain is lessened. Not so for these women or for the disciples who were hiding in the upper room after Jesus died. In their understanding of the moment, Jesus was dead. It was over.
That is the mindset of the women who approached the tomb. Sad, somber, without hope. Jesus had told them that he would rise from the dead, but really? Besides, the authorities had placed a substantial guard at the tomb. If Jesus left the tomb for any reason, their superiors would have put them to death. The women get to the tomb and the stone has already been rolled back. A stone that it would take several men to move. And where were the guards? Most important, where was Jesus? There is some young man in the corner, who it seems they didn't even know, who says with authority, "He has been raised." "Go to Galilee where he said he would meet you. You will see him there." "He is not here." Jesus is alive! What Jesus said he would do, he did do. There were over 500 people who saw Jesus after he rose. They talked with him, touched his wounds, ate with him. The evidence isn't only written in scripture. Historians who were not followers of Jesus attested to this! The accounts of Jesus and his resurrection were written down, not hundreds of years later, but very soon after they occurred, while there were still eyewitnesses alive. In coming weeks, we will talk about Lee Strobel, an atheist - didn't believe in God, who recently investigated the resurrection of Jesus. He was the legal editor of the Chicago Tribune. A lawyer and an award-winning writer. His investigation of the resurrection resulted in his becoming Christian and then spending his life preaching the Gospel around the world. That is what happens when people fully explore the resurrection of Jesus. What Jesus said he would do, he did do. Doesn't that cause you to ask: "What else did he say he would do?" He said that in rising from the dead, he was conquering death for us. That now, when we die, our lives are changed and not ended. We can spend eternity with him and his Father in heaven. Perfect life, perfect truth, and perfect love. If anyone else said this, I don't think I could believe it. But coming from Jesus, who did the impossible and rose from the dead, I do believe it! In addition to telling us we could spend eternity with him, he also said that he was starting up the Kingdom of Heaven now, here on earth. And he said that we needed to live as he taught. Loving God and our neighbor. That is how we bring about the kingdom of Heaven here on earth, and live in it forever. Yes, Jesus said all of that, and he will do it. Do you realize what that means for you personally? First, we can worry a whole lot less. We can be a whole lot more joyful than we probably are. And we will spend eternity with Christ in heaven. And what does all this mean for the world - one day, peace. And tonight, we celebrate this. We began our celebration with the church dark and passed Christ's light from one to another until the whole church was light. It was a symbol of how we are to pass Christ's light to others. Our first reading from Genesis reminded us of how God started it all, turning darkness into light. In our second reading from Exodus we heard of God rescuing his struggling people. You and I today are struggling - the pandemic, racial injustice, poverty, wars, people treating each other with bitterness. And just as God saved his people in Exodus, he will save us. God then showed his saving power even more, sending Jesus Christ. Even after he was crucified, Christ now lives and breathes. He lives and breathes through you and I as we bring him to everyone that we encounter. Will the rest of the world learn to live as Jesus taught? Jesus said they will. And I know that through you and I, he will do it! Amen. HE IS TRULY RISEN!
Happy Easter!!! Deacon Dave