Reflection/Homily for Easter Sunday

Theme: Now that Christ has risen!

For the past forty days, we have been journeying with the Lord to Calvary. This journey was not easy. It was both a physical and Spiritual Journey. It demanded a lot of sacrifice and penance. At the beginning of the Holy week, there was great tension as we began to meditate on the passion of Christ. At the Triduum, the tension increased when Christ entered into his passion and death.

This tension caused despair and disappointment among his friends. They could neither believe his death nor understand why Christ had to die with all his powers. His arrest, condemnation, passion and death were like a dream for them. They were sure of the several times he miraculously escaped from the wicked crowd. They could not understand why this time he had to allow himself to be taken over so freely. They were afraid and disappointed. They thought all about him had been forgotten for he had been defeated.

Afraid of being attacked by the Jews who killed their master, the disciples of Jesus locked themselves up in a room. In their state of despair and disappointment, Mary of Magdala came to announce that Christ’s body was missing as we saw in the gospel reading (Jn. 20:1-9). Peter and John ran to the tomb to discover the empty tomb. With this latest development, they were more confused for as the gospel records, they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead. But reading further into today’s gospel, we see that they discovered that Christ was not actually missing but had been risen from the dead. 

Awakened by the joy of resurrection, Peter went out to announce the Good News of Christ Jesus as we saw in the first reading (Acts. 10:34,37-43). He spoke with authority and explained the mystery and mission of Christ to his audience. The Good News he preached became the first public post-resurrection testimony about Christ.

Beloved Brethren, today, we are also invited to rejoice with the risen Lord and more especially, to give testimony to his resurrection. The resurrection of Christ should be felt in our lives. We should no longer be afraid like the apostles were before Christ’s resurrection. We can now boldly proclaim his resurrection with our lives.

That is why the second reading (Col 3:1-4) exhorts us to rise with Christ after dying with him by seeking what is above. The world wants to see us resurrect from our sinfulness and from those evil things that were part of us before now. We should not go back to the grave by doing those things we abandoned during our Lenten observance.

In conclusion dearest brethren, let us be reminded that our spiritual journey and striving is not yet over. We hope to share not only in Christ’s resurrection but to have our own bodies resurrect on the last day. Therefore, as we celebrate Easter, it is not a period to finish the “unholy business” we stopped before lent neither is it a time to relax after the Lenten observance. Let us live in such a way that will guarantee us to appear with him in glory on the last day. God loves you.