Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord; April 20, 2025

Acts 10:34a,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: The Resurrection of the Lord.  Even though it is the pivotal event of our Faith, we are so familiar with this solemnity, that we may lose sight of its utterly unique, intimate game-changing dimension.  So, let’s take a step back from the familiar, and ask, just what is Easter about?

            The Resurrection basically confirms the Incarnation: that Jesus is God in the flesh and that he has overcome sin and death—that we are, indeed, saved.  But, people have trouble with the notion that God could or would become a human being, let alone that he really, bodily rose from the dead, which is promised to us as well if we believe in Him.  So, over the last few 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.  So, the Resurrection of Jesus is reduced and put into this mythic framework.

            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! 

            That experience begins with prayer when we go into the Quiet and raise our eyes to the Risen Jesus.  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 and this is the one, non-negotiable certitude we have in life.  The Word became Flesh because of his unconditioned love for each one of us and he died so that we may be saved and experience life everlasting!

            We can encounter the Risen Christ through the meditation of Scripture, which is the Word of God.  As we ponder the Bible’s eternal truths, his Word finds a home in our heart and soul: he directly speaks to us and his Word transforms us. 

            We experience him in the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Reconciliation, in which we really receive his Body and Blood, his soul and divinity, and we know to the very core of our being that he is Risen, that he is alive!  And, in Confession, we experience God’s forgiveness and tender mercy as he opens his arms to us once again so that we may experience his unconditioned love.

            We experience the Risen Christ in our service to our neighbor.  We remember that Jesus taught us in Matthew 25 that “whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did to me” (v. 40).  As baptized members of the Body of Christ, the Church, we are interconnected with one another and what we do to each other, especially those most in need, we are actually doing to Jesus.  And, when do, we enter more deeply and intimately into his Resurrected Presence. 

            As we abide in the Risen Christ, we will slowly become transformed.  We begin to see what is really Real and our desires begin to slowly change as they become more aligned with our Father’s will.  Rather than trying to save our lives, we strive to give our lives away as modeled by our Lord Jesus.  We’ll also begin to feel differently as we “move and live, and have our being” in the Risen Christ.  As we abide in him, we will experience “a joy that will never pass away”—you can’t say that about anything else. 

So , brothers and sisters through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 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.

Reflection Questions:

1. What does Easter mean to you?
2. Do you experience the Risen Christ in your life?
3. As you abide in the Risen Christ are you becoming transformed?