April
16, 2017
Easter
Sunday
Acts
10:34a, 37–43; Colossians 3:1-4; John 20:1–9
Happy Easter my
dear brothers and sisters in Christ! “The Lord is risen, Alleluia! Alleluia!” This
is the good news of our faith this Easter Season. I remember this story about a
conversation between two friends – one
is a Christian and the other is a Muslim. The Muslim wanted to impress his
Christian friend about Islam so he said, “When we Muslims go to Mecca, we at
least find a coffin of our founder, but when you Christians go to Jerusalem,
you find nothing but an empty grave.” The Christian friend replied, “That is
precisely the difference. Mohammed is
dead and in his coffin. And all other
founders of religions are in
their coffins. But the Lord whom we believe in, the Lord who established our
Church – Jesus the Christ is Risen from the dead and all power in heaven and on
earth is given to Him.”
My brothers and
sisters, what we celebrate today is not about a zombie rising from the dead.
What we celebrate today is not about a dead man walking. What we celebrate
today is the great mystery of our faith – that Christ rose from the dead,
entered into a new realm of existence and
continues to live up to the present moment. What is the significance of the resurrection
of Christ? Why do we celebrate Easter every year?
Let
us reflect on this in three points:
THE
STORY OF THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS IS THE VERY FOUNDATION OF OUR FAITH. If
we want to find proof, or evidence that will convince
us that Jesus is not only human but also God, it is none other than the
resurrection event. During the earthly ministry of Jesus, when he
asked his disciples, Who do you say I am? All of them gave different answers -
one disciple said He is Moses, another said He is Elijah, another said again He
is John the Baptist. In other words, they were not sure if Jesus was God. But
when He finally rose from the dead and showed himself to his disciples, his
resurrection was the greatest
proof telling us that Jesus is God.
This is how our Church
started to grow. Without the resurrection, our Church would not have reached
this far. Without the resurrection,
there would be no St. James the Great Parish. The Roman Catholic Church
continues to exist up to the present moment because the one who built our
Church is not just any other person. It is Jesus – true God and true man. It is
Jesus, risen from the dead.
THE
RESURRECTION OF JESUS ILLUSTRATES THE TRIUMPH OF GOOD OVER EVIL. The
death of Jesus on the cross is perhaps the greatest crime
man has ever committed. The death of Jesus was not just about the
killing an innocent man. The death of Jesus is about man killing God himself.
Many thought that was the end of the life of Jesus. But God is so great
that he can make good out of evil. God is so great that he can extract goodness
out of evil. Death is not the end of the story. Injustice is not the end of the
story. Jesus rose from the dead and
conquered evil with goodness and love. This is our story too. The resurrection
tells us that as we struggle in the battle between good and evil here on earth,
we should never give up doing what is right, never give up striving to be
better persons, because in the end, goodness will always triumph over evil.
THE
RESURRECTION OF JESUS GAVE US ETERNAL LIFE. What is eternal
life? Eternal life does not mean that we are now immortal. It does not mean
that we will not die. No. Before the resurrection event, the cycle of life consists
only of: Birth – Life – Death – Corruption. But after the resurrection of Christ,
the life cycle has been changed from Birth – Life – Death and Eternal life for
those who believe in Christ. Death is not the end of our life. The Resurrection
of Jesus tells us that after death, there is eternal life. Eternal life means belonging
in that kingdom where there are no more tears, no more fears, no more pain, no
more problems, no more goodbyes but only the reign of goodness and love.
My brothers and sisters, the resurrection of Jesus is the very foundation of our faith. It tells us that good will always triumph over evil and it strengthens our hope for eternal life. As we renew our baptismal promises today, let us also renew our commitment to be faithful to Jesus so as to share in the glory of his resurrection. Amen.
My brothers and sisters, the resurrection of Jesus is the very foundation of our faith. It tells us that good will always triumph over evil and it strengthens our hope for eternal life. As we renew our baptismal promises today, let us also renew our commitment to be faithful to Jesus so as to share in the glory of his resurrection. Amen.
