He Has Truly Risen Alleluia! Easter Sunday
Sermon by Emmanuel Suntheni OSB – Easter Sunday – Year A
Sermon And Christian Act In The Word
Theme: Resurrection – the greatest gift ever! He has truly risen Alleluia! Have you risen with Christ?
Point of Reflection: Two important words which confirm that Jesus has truly risen: seeing and believing. Without these two words, then, we will be wasting our time to say he was risen. John the Disciple was the first person to see the empty tomb and believe. Subsequently, he and others testified to the resurrection which became the core of the kerygma, and the foundation of the new faith. For these reasons, the day of Christ’s resurrection is the most exuberant and festive Christian celebration, the day when believers rejoice in the greatest, the ultimate gift of God. What remains is to sing together with the Psalmist, celebrating that gift with the words, “I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord.”
First Reading: Acts 10:34, 37–43
Psalm: Psalm 118:1–2, 16–17, 22–23
Second Reading: Colossians 3:1–4
Gospel: John 20:1–9
Sermon (Reflection): Following on from the proclamation of the Resurrection at the exuberant and elaborate Easter Vigil, which begins the Easter Season, the Easter Sunday readings lead the faithful into this important time for Christian faith and life. This season celebrates Jesus’ resurrection as the turning point of salvation history, and explores its significance for Jesus’ followers and believers.
Since the resurrection of Jesus is the supreme act of God for the sake of believers and his creation, the first Sunday of this new season fittingly celebrates this victory over death as God’s greatest gift.
Encountering the Gospel of today, we can note that the resurrection stories in all the Gospels begin with the women’s trek to Jesus’ tomb. They are the first witnesses to see that the tomb, which held the broken body of Jesus, is now empty. In the Gospel of John, Mary who was one of the most prominent women disciples of Jesus, plays that essential role. She would become not only the first witness to the empty tomb, but also the first one to encounter the risen Lord. In today’s account, Mary’s testimony brings two of Jesus’ closest followers to the empty tomb, Peter, and John, also known as the “beloved disciple”. This young man ran to the tomb as fast as he could, driven by anxiety about what had happened to the body of his beloved master. Arriving at the tomb, and out of respect, John waited for his elder, Peter. Entering the tomb and seeing the burial shroud with the head covering neatly arranged, Peter must have realised that Jesus’ body was not stolen by thieves; robbers do not neatly arrange the place which they have plundered. John also entered the tomb and, seeing it empty, with burial clothes neatly arranged, he understood and believed that Jesus truly has risen.
In this story, the evangelist highlights the absolute novelty of the resurrection. The run to the tomb symbolically represents humanity’s ardent desire for the defeat of death. The idea of resurrection and life after death is absent from the major part of the Old Testament, with the exception of the books of Daniel (12:1-3) and Wisdom (3:1-7). No wonder the disciples, even though knowing the Scriptures, did not understand, or did not take the possibility of the resurrection seriously. Only when they see the empty tomb they realized that something extraordinary has taken place, and that death has been overcome by Jesus. John is shown as the first person who witnessed, understood and believed that all the human hopes for immortality have now come true.
The resurrection of Jesus changed everything, but it was not something that came suddenly and surprisingly. Peter’s speech testifies to the fact that this victory over death and the gift of eternal life was always intended by God. Hopes for immortality were already present among the prophets and sages of the Old Testament who grappled with the idea of life, death and God’s love. Their hopes and conclusions are brilliantly summarised by the author of the book of Wisdom who stated that, “God created us for incorruption, and made us in the image of his own eternity” (Cf. Wisdom 2:23).
This ultimate purpose of God was decisively accomplished by Jesus’ resurrection. Indeed, the rejected and crucified Jesus has become the cornerstone, the foundation, of the new life for all believers.
The first words that resound in the liturgy of Easter morning come from Peter who declares with absolute conviction that “God shows no partiality”. In the course of his years with Jesus and then, having seen the empty tomb and subsequently having encountered the risen Jesus, Peter finally and fully understood that Jesus’ mission was about bringing God’s gift of eternal life to all humanity. Referring to God’s impartiality, Peter emphasises that this is a universal gift. No human-made distinctions or religious divisions, no ethnic groupings or cultural categories place restrictions on God’s gift, they apply no longer. In Jesus Christ God has done something entirely new and wholly universal.
Conclusively, in the scriptural readings of today, Peter proceeds by presenting the justification for this extraordinary claim. He begins with a brief and general outline of the life of Jesus in its essential elements: Jesus’ baptism and the gift of God’s Spirit, Jesus’ ministry of healing and exorcism and, finally, Jesus’ death. But, unlike any death ever before, Jesus’ death was not the end of the story. Rather, because of God’s love and power at work in Jesus, his death, instead of being the end, became the beginning, as Peter attests that God raised Jesus on the third day. The apostle himself experienced the risen Jesus and shared a meal with him and with other chosen witnesses, who then went on to proclaim the risen Lord to the world.
This speech of Peter contains the essential elements of the Christian “kerygma”, that is the proclamation of the core of the Christian faith, which lies in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Peter concluded his speech by linking these events with the Old Testament. The prophets in the past, without realising it, anticipated Jesus’ resurrection by expressing hopes for the final redemption of God’s people. Their words reflected both human longing and God’s plans for humanity. All these have now been fulfilled as Jesus rose from the tomb.
Christian Act in Word of God “The Greatest Gift: SALVATION”
The greatest gift we receive today is not an Easter egg, or an expensive gift, card, present or barbecue. It is the magnificent and supreme gift that God has given us in the shape of eternal life, and salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. The celebration of Easter Sunday would be meaningless if we focused on the social aspect of this celebration without considering the essence of the Pascal Mysteries. A few points will help us to celebrate Easter Sunday meaningfully.
First, salvation is a universal gift for all humankind, “God wills that everyone be saved” (cf. 1 Tim 2:4). Christ suffered and died for all people, he offered himself for our sake. As people who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we are saved through our faith. Yet, we also insist that salvation is not a matter of simply belonging to this or that church. We demonstrate our Christianity and faith through a life in conformity with Christian virtues and morals. Salvation is not an instant but a life-long project, which we work at with fear and trembling, which means with utmost seriousness and respect (cf. Phil 2:12). We welcome God’s supreme gift of life by remaining in communion with him, by living lives that he demands of us.
Second, God has no favourites. Peter came to realize that God’s intentions are universal. God fashioned humankind in his own likeness and image, and his love is for all, not just selected individuals or groups. This is well reflected in the proverb, “The rain does not recognize anyone as a friend, it drenches all equally”. If we are all equal before our Creator God, then why should we consider other people inferior? Why should there be tribalism, nepotism, racism, civil wars, and genocide?
As people who have risen with Christ, we ought to live by his command to love others with tolerance, and understanding of their differences.
To live the risen life, means cleansing our minds from prejudices and stereotypes based on tribe and ethnic identity, because God’s gift of life is not partial, but universal. All deserve the possibility of enjoying this gift.
Third, we are reminded of our duty as Christians, to bear witness to Jesus’ resurrection, by living a life that is entirely focused on supporting and defending the gift of life, in ourselves and others. After his resurrection, Jesus commissioned his disciples to be witnesses not only in Jerusalem, but also to the ends of the world. As a Christian, am I living a life of witness to God’s universal gift of life?
For us, believers, the empty tomb of Jesus proclaims his power over death, and every kind of sickness, physical or social. It powerfully reminds us that no oppressive situation or illness is forever. When we pray to God for his intervention or healing, we see the tombstone rolled away.
This Easter season God wants to deliver us most of all from the hopelessness that comes from living in the world surrounded by death, oppression and sickness.
The resurrection of Christ shows that death does not have the final word, the final word of God is that which proclaims that God’s greatest gift, for all humanity, is boundless and endless life in God’s presence.
Action: I will rise every day with Christ by doing acts of love: I am an Easter person!
Prayer: Almighty God, we thank you for the greatest gift of Salvation you have given us. Alleluia! Christ has truly risen, Alleluia! We humbly ask you dear Lord to resurrect all that is still dead within us. May we be Easter people. Save us from hopelessness and grant us a renewed zeal for eternal life. Anoint us with the power of your Holy Spirit and purify our thoughts and minds, to bear witness to you with our daily lives of care and love. We ask you, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who has risen in our midst, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever, Amen.
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