Sunday of the Resurrection

Fr Dominic’s Homily

Today is the feast of all feasts. It’s the new Passover feast of Easter. The same message is being preached throughout the world: Death and sin have been overcome and the Lord is risen Alleluia! It’s the most important message of all time. The gates of paradise have been unlocked for us again forever.

 But do we really believe this? Some think Christ’s resurrection is purely symbolic and describes how Jesus somehow lives on in our hearts.

 Some say some say it’s a myth. That Easter is really to do with the revival of nature in spring after winter. Others say that after his death the disciples felt forgiven. So this continued in their stories afterwards. But of course the truth is that Jesus really did rise from the dead body and soul.

 We hear that terror and amazement had seized the disciples when they witnessed the empty tomb! That shows something radical had happened.

Otherwise could you say that Paul travelled half way around the world simply to preach that it felt like Jesus lives on in our hearts?

 Or that the apostles went to meet their death in horrific ways– simply because they felt a kind of forgiveness? No. All the facts are laid out for us in the Gospels.

 The Resurrection isn’t a myth or a legend or a philosophical concept. It’s a stark reality. Jesus really did rise from the dead and then appeared to his disciples. It’s the heart and soul of our faith and it’s the very essence of our belief. To be a Christian is to believe in this Resurrection of Christ.

 Notice a couple of points in the gospel. Firstly that it is through the women present that God chooses to convey the most important message of the universe. Thank goodness because the Men just don’t seem to get it. We see the most important events in scripture are often initiated through women. And this is theologically important.

 Also notice that we have so much information surrounding the resurrection of Jesus but curiously we have no account of the actual resurrection in any of the Gospels. Why is this? Did Jesus think that it would be too much for us to witness this greatest miracle of all?

 Or was it to make sure we didn’t cling too much to this event itself rather than the meaning behind it? Maybe it’s so that we really have to choose to believe in this rather than relying on an eye witness account.

 Tonight we have heard all those amazing Old Testament readings that explain our redemption history. From Genesis right through to Ezekiel. It’s the same story - God never gives up on his creation – even when we give up on him. He wants to be intimately part of our lives. That’s the whole story of the Old Testament in a nutshell.

 The parting of the Red Sea is a prefiguration of Baptism. Where Israel was set free from Pharaoh. Now through baptism we are set free from Satan. We heard that Pharaoh perused the Israelites right up to the sea. So it is with Satan – he peruses us right up to the waters of Baptism. He chases us all the way.

 Those who choose for Christ will always experience some kind of spiritual warfare. That’s why we renounce Satan in the renewal of our baptismal vows and we choose for God. It is his love that defines us.

 So many people try to define themselves by their career, or their possessions or their families. Or even their sins, failures or wounds. Or mistakes they may have made.

 The truth is that none of these things define us. The only thing that ever defines us is the love of God. We all have a flame of divinity within us. This means, of course, that nothing in this world can ever fulfil us. Because our hearts are restless until they rest in God.

 When we consider all the various difficulties that we may experience in our lives, when we hope in the Lord He becomes an anchor for our souls.

To be an Easter people means that we place our hope in Jesus. That we do not allow despair to get the better of us.

 The resurrection of Jesus makes all things new. He has re-forged our relationship with the Father allowing us to join him in heaven for eternity. This is the underlying message of tonight and for the rest of our lives.

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