Easter Sunday: The Resurrection of Our Lord

Acts 10:334,37-43.  Ps 118.  Col 3:1-4.  Jn 20:1-9

Deacon Jim McFadden

            Today we are celebrating the apex of the liturgical calendar; indeed, it is the nucleus of our Faith: The Resurrection of the Lord.  In the midst of so much uncertainty—the dire predictions of climate change outcomes, the slow and arduous recovery from the pandemic, a full blown war on the European continent in Ukraine—we dare to joyfully celebrate that the resurrected Jesus is forever with us.  We’re not just commemorating a historical event, but we are wholeheartedly responding to his invitation to be an active part of our lives—indeed, to be the very center which animates our entire existence.  Since Jesus is Life itself, as he revealed to the apostle Thomas, we can participate in his very Being which immerses us in Trinitarian love. 

            As we celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord, amidst uncertainty, we simply state that Christianity, as Pope Benedict XVI often reminded us, is primarily about a Person—not an idea, ideology, moral platform,  philosophical system, etc.  If St. Paul had, for example, barrelled into the port city of Corinth, asserting that he wanted to talk about some recently deceased preacher from Judea who had some interesting moral bromides to entertain our fancy, they would have been indifferent to say the least.  Instead, Paul proclaimed, “He is Risen! He is Alive!”   Jesus of Nazareth, who was brutally crucified and died, is alive and through his Resurrection we can share in his Life that is eternal.  That got their attention as it does for us today!

            You see, Paul starts from an irrefutable fact that is not the result of knowledge that proceeds from inductive, philosophical reasoning.  Christianity, again, is not primarily a system of ideas.  Rather, Christianity starts from the Crucifixion, which has been confirmed by several non-Christian historians such as Josephus (93 a.d.) and Suetonius (122 a.d.).  Christianity then leads to the event of the Resurrection which was witnessed by Jesus’ first disciples and an appearance before 500 people.  Both the Crucifixion and the Resurrection are convincingly confirmed by the Shroud of Turin, which bears the image of the Resurrected Christ on the outer surface of the burial cloth.  Paul summarizes the heart of Christianity: Jesus died for our sins, he was buried, and on the third day he rose from the dead, and he appeared.  That’s it: Jesus is alive!  That’s the heart of the Christian message, which means he “appears” to us within the Church, his mystical Body and sacramentally, especially the Eucharist, which means we can participate in an ‘I-Thou’ relationship that is deeply personal, life-giving, intimate, and eternal.  That is Good News, which is why we are here today!

            The Resurrection of Jesus is the nucleus of our faith, which confirms the Incarnation.  Without these core beliefs, Christianity is just another moral way of life, which can be easily dismissed.  If the story of Jesus had just ended on Good Friday, we would have had a poignant story of supreme self-denial, which ended in a sacrificial death.  Such a scenario would afford us an example to live by, but that would not be enough to generate Faith. 

            No, more to it: Jesus is a hero the likes that have never been seen before or since.  He absorbed our arch-enemies, sin and death and overcame them.  Our Faith is not generated by his death—that is the necessary part of the story; our Faith arises from the Resurrection.  Accepting that Jesus died during the governance of Pontius Pilate is not an act of faith, but is simply acknowledging a historical fact that is confirmed by several extra-biblical sources.  Believing that Jesus is Risen, that he is alive, that he is here among us and within us, that is an act of Faith!  Our Faith begins on Easter morning and after that everything changes.  Through his Resurrection we have the opportunity to share in the divine Life of the Trinity—now and forever! 

            People of God, the incredible Good News is that the Resurrected Christ and the One who sent him, have invited us to enter fully into their divine love, which is called coinherence.  The love between the Father and the Son—which is called the Holy Spirit—we can now participate because Jesus is Risen and we are members of his mystical Body, the Church.  That’s why everything is now different; everything has a liminal aura from the perspective of the Risen Christ.

            Brothers and sisters, let us not take for granted this opportunity.  In the divine economy, God has searched for us amidst our darkness.  The Word became Flesh so that he could grasp us, win us over through his public ministry, Death, and Resurrection.  Moreover, he promised never to leave us orphaned as he gave us his very Holy Spirit who connects us to God, each other, and Creation.

            God is Love and he communicates his very Being to us through grace.  And, being made in the image and likeness of God, we have the capacity to receive this grace with a grateful heart.  So, on this Easter Sunday, let us have an open heart.  Let us know that Christianity is grace, a shared life, which happens in the amazement and encounter of the Risen Christ.  Jesus is Risen!  Alleluia!