MENUCLOSE

Institute for Homiletics

A Collaboration of The Catholic Foundation and the University of Dallas

Easter Sunday of The Resurrection of The Lord

Resurrection, in Spite of Us

Easter comes once a year. Yet in April of 2020, it didn’t seem to come at all. We were locked down from the COVID-19 pandemic;  many, many were dying, dying alone. There were no liturgies at which to gather, no trumpeted alleluias, no family feast at the dining room table. I had been sick for weeks. My lungs still burned. I ate dry toast and watched Mass on my phone by myself at the kitchen table.  It was an Easter morning of emptiness. 

Mary of Magdala felt even more empty. She had a hollow cave in her heart that morning as she trudged toward the tomb. When she got there, the body was gone. “They” had taken the Lord, stolen the corpse of Jesus. The tomb was empty. Hollow. Gone. 

When the Beloved Disciple entered the tomb, he saw that emptiness differently. What did he see that stirred him to rejoice?  What made his chest to swell with confidence? We don’t know. But faith bubbled up within him. He saw. He believed. He rejoiced. In spite of the apparently hollow circumstances, God gave him this inner conviction: Jesus had risen from the tomb. Jesus was raised to new life. He knew! 

I went out to my garden on that desolate Easter morning. The sun was shining. The air was warm. The birds were singing. The richness of spring was rising from the emptiness of winter. No matter how I felt inside, new life was swirling around me. My personal abyss was like a tiny island within a vast ocean of abundance. Resurrection was happening, going on in spite of me. The heavens still sang with alleluias—“Jesus is risen!” The angels still answered with joy, “He is  risen indeed!” 

What is happening with you on this day in 2022? No matter what,  happy Easter!

Consider/Discuss 

  • Human experience can feed faith—we can be lifted along by beautiful liturgy and the camaraderie of faith-filled friends. But there are other times,  somehow, in the midst of desolation or pain or emptiness, that faith bubbles up anyway. We are flooded with belief. How does that happen? We don’t know. It’s a mystery. That inner certainty is a gift. Have you tasted it, even a tiny taste? What is it like to experience that inner assurance of faith as a gift from God? 
  • Human life is full of big and small crucifixion moments. Human life is full of big and small resurrection moments. The glory of the Paschal Mystery is that there is One who transforms that darkness into light, that sorrow into  joy, that hopelessness into hope. By the grace of God, we keep on making  it through. Easter doesn’t just come once a year after all—Easter alleluias swirl round us all the time, for Jesus has entered into our abyss and has  lifted it to new life. On this Easter Sunday, for what do you praise God today? Out of what darkness has the Son of Man lifted you to new life? 

Living and Praying with the Word 

Lord, the brightness of each new day is surrounded by your glory.  The alleluias of your resurrection are deeper and more real than I can ever perceive. Give me your confidence, your blessed assurance,  your joy, that even my darkest moments have been redeemed by you. Jesus, you are here; you are risen; you are alive; you are with me. This is the reality that is the firm basis of my life. Even when my earth-bound experience does not feel it, your gift of heaven-sent  faith reveals otherwise. Thank you for health. Thank you for friends.  Thank you for hope. Thank you for resurrection life. Praise to you,  Lord Jesus Christ! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Written by

Scripture Study for

In the coastal town of Caesarea lived a Roman named Cornelius  who was “devout and God-fearing.” He had received a vision from  God, instructing him to summon Peter, who, for his part, has been instructed by God to go (10:1–33). His speech is the kerygma in a  nutshell: Jesus was anointed by God to go about “doing good and  healing.” Nevertheless, he was condemned to death. Yet God raised him from the dead, after which he appeared to witnesses who could testify with certainty that his resurrection was real. Peter affirms that  Jesus’ mission is being extended through himself and others, who are preaching in order to bring God’s forgiveness of sins to everyone— Jew or Gentile—who believes (trusts) in Jesus. 

Colossians reminds the baptized that, like Christ, they have died to earthly things, those aspects of the world that are opposed to  Christ. Now “raised,” believers actually live “above” with Christ, and must act accordingly. When Christ appears again, this new life, now  “hidden” (accessible only by faith), will be revealed in all its glory.  Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians has a simple point: you are now new people in Christ, so act like it. In preparation for Passover,  all yeast and leavened bread is cleared out of the house; after the feast new leavened bread is prepared. The Corinthians have failed to do the necessary “house cleaning” both in their own hearts and within their community and are therefore not properly celebrating the Paschal feast, begun with the sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb.

When Mary Magdalene sees the empty tomb, she thinks at first that perhaps Jesus’ body has been stolen. The Evangelist spends some time, however, describing the empty linens, something thieves would not take the time to leave behind. We remember that when Lazarus (who would die again) was raised, he came forward in his linens. Jesus, who will not die again, has left the linens, like death itself, behind. When the Beloved Disciple sees the empty tomb and the linens, he believes that Jesus has been raised from the dead, not stolen, but he does not yet fully comprehend the meaning of the  Resurrection. Understanding only comes when one encounters the resurrected Lord. 

Written by