He is Risen. Indeed. Alleluia!

 Then the angel said to the women in reply,
“Do not be afraid! 
I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. 
He is not here, 
for he has been raised just as he said. 
Come and see the place where he lay."

Matthew 28.5-6

Alleluia! This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad! 

But the events of Good Friday were real. Jesus was nailed to the Cross. In the eyes of the world, Jesus died a failure. 

Yet today we declare He is risen! The message is one of Hope and Joy! 

But dead men don’t rise, we say. And the resurrected life eluded even the disciples. They did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to die and rise. Living with the mystery of the Resurrection is part of our journey as disciples of the Lord. The first disciples were afraid and doubtful; they were uncertain what the empty tomb meant.

We too have anxiety about what Christ’s Resurrection means for us. And even though we do not know what the future will bring, we know that Christ holds the future. He leads us into the Kingdom. Our task is not to have all the answers, but to follow Him in faith, trusting that God will be with us as we journey together.

Christ is risen. Indeed. The early church was overjoyed by the resurrection because of the experience of the Risen Lord. For Jesus’ Resurrection is much more than an Easter basket full of chocolate and plastic eggs. All that He has, he shares with us, even His risen life. And we can begin to share in this Life now, experiencing his life in ours. So, if the tomb is empty, everything is changed. 

Today has to be different from last Friday. The apostles and the early church truly risked their lives to gather as a community and pray and care for one another. We who belong to Christ intentionally care for one another; there is deep love among parishioners, a commitment to community, and much love embracing of one another’s wounds. Through prayer and sacrifice we see the faith in Jesus Christ being lived out in a visible way!

Let us ask the Lord to grant that we may devote ourselves to the service of the Gospel; keep us attentive to the needs of all, sharing their grief and pain, joys and hopes, comforting those who are burdened, that we may go forward with them along the way of God’s Kingdom. And together may we bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection joy of Jesus Christ!

Alleluia!