Troubies, when St. Paul entered the seaport  city of  Corinth to proclaim the Good News, he didn’t say, “Hey, let me tell you about this dead carpenter from Nazareth, who had some cool moral insights that I think you’d like.”

NO!  Instead he busted into the city square and bellowed in Greek,  “Anastasis! Anastasis!  He is Risen, He is Alive!”  So, 2000 years later, we gather as a faith community celebrating this utterly unique, intimate, game-changing event.  But, since we don’t physically see Jesus, we can ask ourselves  just what is Easter about?

            To begin with, the Resurrection basically confirms the Incarnation—that Jesus is the Word made flesh, who abased himself through his Passion and Death so that we may be saved, enabling us to participate in his Life now and forever.

Well, right there, many people have a problem that the God of the whole universe, with all of its billions of galaxies, a God who absolutely doesn’t need anything, would stoop down and become a human being, let alone going through scourging and crucifixion.  And, on top of that, this carpenter from Nazareth reportedly  rose from the dead, which is exactly what he promised. 

            For some, this all too much.  So, over the centuries there has crept in a narrative that reduces the Resurrection to a myth or symbol.  Easter, they say, is just one more dramatic instance of the springtime saga that life triumphs over death after the bleak months of winter. 

            Others say that the Resurrection is a symbolic way of saying that the cause of Jesus lives on in his followers.  C.S. Lewis vigorously put down these symbolic interpretations.  He said that those who say the Resurrection is a myth, simply don’t understand what myths are about.  They deal with a-historical archetypes and thus tend to speak of things that happened “once upon a time” or, to bring it up to date, “in a galaxy far, far away.”

            But, the point is, the Gospels don’t use that kind of abstract, symbolic language.  In describing the Resurrection, they mention particular places, such as Judea and Jerusalem.  They specify that the event didn’t happen “once upon a time,” but occurred when Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea.  We can date that.  There are coins that have ‘Pontius Pilate’ on them.  We know exactly when and where the Crucifixion and Resurrection happened.

            More to it, the Gospels named distinct individuals—Peter, James, John, Thomas, Mary Magdalene—who encountered Jesus after he rose from the dead.  500 people collectively witnessed the Risen Christ.  People who knew him, touched him, talked to him, followed him around the hills of Galilee, boldly said they saw the Risen Christ and they saw him in bodily form.

            Finally, no one dies to defend a mythic claim.  No one has ever died for Zeus, Dionysius, or Apollo.  There are no martyrs of Thor.  But, nearly all the first evangelists of the Resurrection went to their deaths in defending the truth of their historical claim.

            Okay, so what does  the Resurrection mean?  I think what it means is that the Death and Resurrection of Christ, the full embodiment that God is love, is fully on display.  Given that, God is a gathering force who brings all people into his embrace that is unitive and generative.  In short, the proof of the Resurrection for the earlier followers and for us, becomes the experience of the Risen Christ—the Jesus who is alive! 

            Sisters and brothers, we can experience this reality here and now!  Our Lord once said that when two or more people gather in his name, that he is present.  Well, we have over a thousand people gathered in this Holy Mass.  If you’ve gathered in the name of Jesus, raise your hand!  OKAY, Jesus is here! Let us be still and say together the very last words of the New Testament contained in Revelation: “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rv 22:20).  Again….Again.

            Troubies, we can have this experience of the Risen Christ every time we go into the Quiet and to  be with Him.  We sit in his presence, knowing that we are being loved by a real Person whose gaze fills our hearts with hope.  He tells us that we are loved unfailingly, no matter what, and that however much we make a mess of things, his love remains unchanged.  God is Love which is  why the Word became Flesh, which is why he suffered and died for our salvation, and why He rose from the dead so that we could share in his Resurrected life.

             People of God, as we abide in the Risen Christ, we will slowly become transformed.  We begin to see  Reality with a pure heart as our desires become more aligned with our Father’s will.  Rather than trying to cling to our lives, we strive to give our lives away as modeled by our Lord Jesus.   As we abide in the Risen Jesus, we will experience “a joy that will never pass away”—you can’t say that about anything else.  So, People of God, let us act in every aspect of our lives that we know that Jesus Christ is Risen, that he is alive today and forever!  Amen.