JOYOUS AND BLESSED EASTER
Joyous and blessed Easter! During the Holy Week, we are blessed with many beautiful readings and explanations that take us from the Mount of Olives to the Resurrection of Christ. Today for this glorious Easter Sunday, we have the most joyful liturgy, bringing us from sorrow to joy, triumph of life over death; as we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, the cornerstone of our faith - “The Lord has risen indeed” (Luke 24:34)
What would you have done if you were there? To be one of the people present when Jesus was made to carry the cross to Golgotha, suffering and left on the cross to die, and laid in a tomb. The cross was the persecutor’s way of maintaining control and inflicting fear of death. The Risen Jesus shows God’s love and mercy is stronger and more powerful than anything in the world, and death is not the end. A new world has opened, not a past event, but a living truth that transcends from the early Christians and is present, bringing hope, joy and good news to the world.
The Church Fathers explain we see Christ the Victor – all the persecution, suffering, and chaos brought Jesus to calvary. Yet, Jesus still offers forgiving love and peace to His apostles who had abandoned him, and proclaims God’s mercy and love victorious in the world. We venerate the Crucifix - a constant reminder of Jesus’ sacrifice for humanity, the depth of His love, and the hope and promise of eternal life in the victory of His resurrection
In the first reading Acts 10:34, St. Peter goes to the home of centurion Cornelius, the first gentile to be baptised. Many thought Jesus had come for the people of Israel, where in Acts 10:36, St. Peter exclaims “He is Lord of all” and proclaims Jesus’ Resurrection is for all of us. In this instance, does my life reflect the resurrected Jesus? Are we ready to go forth as Easter people?
Pope Francis said that Jesus broke through the darkness of the tomb and lives forever … with Him, every day becomes a step in an eternal journey, every today can hope for a tomorrow, every end a new beginning, every instant is projected beyond the limits of time, toward eternity. The joy of Easter can be nurtured by “encountering the Risen One” in the Eucharist, in the confessional, in prayer, and in charity. He is the source of a joy that never ceases.” (Regina Caeli address, April 2024)
In the Gospel reading Luke 24:1-12, we read of the fulfilment of the promises of Jesus during His earthly life and the Old Testament, and the testimony and witness of Mary of Magdala, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and St. Peter. The resurrection confirms Jesus’ divine nature and His identity as the Son of God, and the basis for hope in our own future resurrection (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n65). No matter at which stage of life we are in or wandered away from God – God is calling us back. There is no place we can escape the invitation of His divine mercy.
St. Paul in 1 Cor 15:14 professes “if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain.” Resurrection is not coming back to life like the daughter of Jairus and Lazarus; where in the New Testament, Jesus brings them from death to life. They return to ordinary life and they die again.
From our Savior’s resurrection, we rise to a new and glorious life. The resurrection of Jesus changes our lives completely and forever. We pray for the grace to live with hearts seeking Christ, reflecting His glory, and waiting in hope for the day, we too will appear with Him in glory. In Col 3:3-4, we understand that what Jesus experienced is to be shared with us. We will experience likewise death and then resurrection “for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed in all your glory with him.”
God has not given up on His creation and we are made new, and to bring us to share His divine life. As in Romans 6:4-5, “We were indeed buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. For if we have grown into union with Him through death like His, we shall also be united with Him in the resurrection.”
At every Eucharistic celebration at Mass, we proclaim the resurrection of Christ. In the Apostles’ Creed, we renew our profession of faith in Christ's Resurrection - “I believe in the resurrection of the body,” the core foundation of our Christian faith. The Liturgy of the Hours is filled with scripture and prayers rejoicing the Resurrection.
The Emmaus journey (Luke 24: 13-35) starts with two people going the wrong way. At times, we come to Mass, like these two disciples, walking in the wrong direction. Through our seeking forgiveness of sins, listening to the Liturgy of the Word, and in the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the breaking of the bread and the drinking of the cup, we see Him in His Real Presence. At each Mass, as in Acts 10: 41 “we are eating and drinking with the Lord after His Resurrection.”
Easter reminds us that life is worth living. St. Gregory of Nyssa, 14th century Church Father proclaims “Christ in rising did not merely open His tomb, He opened the way for every man who believes.” Jesus is living today and in our midst. We share in the resurrection each time we reach out to someone in need, forgive someone who has hurt us, persevere to overcome our sins, and in our efforts when we continue in hope when all seems lost.
Hans Urs von Balthasar in his writings on “The Road to Emmaus” (1970), highlights the understanding of the resurrection, and the transformative power of recognizing Jesus in the breaking of the bread. Jesus gives himself to us fully, and takes us fully to himself, body, and soul. There, our sins are forgiven, our wounds are healed, our eyes are opened, our souls are strengthened, and the promise is renewed. There, death, and life come together, because the broken Body is the risen Body which gives us life. At the table of the Lord the kingdom comes to us and we are taken up to it, until that day, when we will see him in all his glory.
This Easter season, let us hasten and go forth as Easter people each day, witnesses of the Risen Lord. We are not supposed to lie buried in the tomb of our sins, poor habits, and addictions. By the gift of the Holy Spirit, may we have the courage to live this Resurrection Life and to transform our lives. We are to live a joyful and peaceful life, constantly experiencing the presence of the Risen Lord in our lives. We pray this Easter that we experience always the inner joy of the Risen Lord. This day was made by the Lord: we rejoice and are glad” (Ps 118:24).
You may recall this familiar clip … wishing one and all a joyous and blessed Easter. “Sing Alleluia, the Lord is Risen, He is Risen indeed, Alleluia!”
"The Easter Song" by a virtual choir of all ages from Singapore
Article by Olivia Tan, HFC Blog Contributor