Easter Sunday

April 4, 2021

Today we celebrate the greatest event in human history and that is Jesus Christ rising from the dead.

First of all, let me recalculate a little. Jesus began his ministry by preaching faith, love, and forgiveness, but the world did not accept it and so they crucified him. That crucifixion seemingly at least for a while shamed his message. We see this clearly when Jesus is taunted on the cross with words like – “If you are the Son of God, come down from that cross” and if your message is true, let God verify that right now and on it went. What is God’s answer to all of this? The answer seems to be nothing, no commentary, no defense, just total silence. We can very easily allow ourselves to be shocked by that silence. In fact, God’s silence can always shock us by the seemingly triumph of evil, pain and suffering in our world. We think of things like the Jewish Holocaust, the tsunamis, the earthquakes, the tornados, the hurricanes and now Covid, where so many have died and are still dying and we ask, “Where is God in all of this?

The answer is given to us today in this great event we call the Resurrection. First of all, this does not mean that God rescues us from evil and death. Evil still does what it does, natural disasters are what they are and those without conscience do what they do. God does not intervene. God still lets his loved ones suffer and die just as he let Jesus suffer and die. Crosses are a mystery, and the final answers will not be made clear until the end of time.

The Resurrection tells us that he will raise us up to a deeper vindication, it is telling us that in spite of everything that love will triumph over hate, that peace will reign over chaos, that life will triumph over death. I think the great Mahatma Gandhi said it well, “When I have a tendency to despair, I recall that all through history, the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, murderers, and brutal dictators and for awhile they seem invincible but, in the end, they always fall, just think-always. The resurrection certainly makes that point. God indeed has the last word; it will fall and good will eventually triumph. So, the great message of Easter is that God brings good out of evil, he brings transformation through the cross and he brings life out of death.

So, our prayer today is that God will permeate our hearts and minds and draw us closer to him through prayer, sacrament and service and let us never forget that our faith is the compass that leads us through the difficult waters of life.

May God go with you and Happy Easter!