Holy Saturday

Fr Dominic’s Homily

Today we celebrate that he crucifix of death has become the means of our life. It has become the cross that saves rather than kills.

It’s strange when you think about it that we honour the cross which is really an instrument of torture to kill Jesus in a horrific way.

Yet the Cross becomes his throne which is why we honour it. We rejoice that something so terrible should have been transformed into a means of redemption for the whole human race. Through this cross our relationship with God the Father has been repaired forever…

Think about all the various crosses in life that we ourselves have to bear. None of us get a free ride in this life. Yet if we can have the resolve to offer these to Jesus he can bring grace and blessings from all those areas of our life that we can fill us with despair.

People in the world generally don’t understand the meaning of the Resurrection. They see our faith as a kind of emotional crutch. People say things like – that’s nice – you have your faith.

But as St Paul says the Resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate challenge. If he didn’t truly rise from the dead our faith is meaningless and hopeless.

We get so used to the sound of it that it’s a bit like the story of the nativity where there’s a danger that it can become a bit too cosy. Just like a fairy-tale for children devoid of any relevance in our lives.

But if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead then all our teaching and understanding is in vain! We can’t explain the resurrection away as simply a myth or a symbol or a concept. That somehow Jesus continued living on in the hearts of his followers..

If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead then all Christianity is a fraud and a joke. But if he did rise then he must be the centre of our lives. And the Christian message is the most important of all. There is no 3rd option.

Remember that Jesus was either a crazy man or actually the son of God. He was a Liar, a Lunatic or actually the Lord as CS Lewis says. There’s no other option.

Remember from Genesis that God speaks things into being. Let there be light and there was.

So as Bishop Robert Baron famously said: If Jesus is who he says he is - then what he says is. In other words as God Jesus speaks things into being. We see that in his miracles of healing. Stand up and pick up your sleeping mat. Rise little girl. Come forth Lazarus. He speaks and things happen.

Plus with the fact that Jesus rose from the dead it reminds us that there is a supernatural element to the world. There is a lot more than this world that we know about.

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead shows that God has a greater plan than we could possibly imagine. And we are all part of that plan. Through the resurrection death is no longer our master. Death doesn’t win. It’s not the final reality.

This life is not our final home. We are destined for something more. This is not our ultimate environment. God is! It’s a kind of womb for our development. This world is good – but just as babies are not meant to live in the womb for ever – so are we destined for more. Our real life begins when we die. Like lots of the spiritual life it’s paradoxical.

Jesus took the worst the world could give him and returned alive and triumphant. This path of salvation has been opened for everyone.

Jesus took the form of a slave accepting even death – death on a cross.

He journeyed all the way down into pain and despair. He said “My God my God why have you deserted me.”

He travelled as far as he could away from the father in order to reach all those who had strayed far away from God and from his love.

So the Resurrection is the be all and end all of Christian Faith.

If we believe the Resurrection to be true – then Jesus is everything and all that he said was true and actually I must give my whole life to him.

So with our hope anchored in the resurrected Christ we really can live lives of fullness and peace and joy! Alleluia!