20220417 HOW DOES ONE COME TO EASTER FAITH?
17 April, 2022, Easter Sunday
First reading |
Acts 10:34,37-43 © |
'We have eaten and drunk with him after his resurrection'
Peter addressed Cornelius and his household: ‘You must have heard about the recent happenings in Judaea; about Jesus of Nazareth and how he began in Galilee, after John had been preaching baptism. God had anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, Jesus went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil. Now I, and those with me, can witness to everything he did throughout the countryside of Judaea and in Jerusalem itself: and also to the fact that they killed him by hanging him on a tree, yet three days afterwards God raised him to life and allowed him to be seen, not by the whole people but only by certain witnesses God had chosen beforehand. Now we are those witnesses – we have eaten and drunk with him after his resurrection from the dead – and he has ordered us to proclaim this to his people and to tell them that God has appointed him to judge everyone, alive or dead. It is to him that all the prophets bear this witness: that all who believe in Jesus will have their sins forgiven through his name.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 117(118):1-2,16-17,22-23 © |
This day was made by the Lord: we rejoice and are glad.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
for his love has no end.
Let the sons of Israel say:
‘His love has no end.’
This day was made by the Lord: we rejoice and are glad.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord’s right hand has triumphed;
his right hand raised me up.
I shall not die, I shall live
and recount his deeds.
This day was made by the Lord: we rejoice and are glad.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the corner stone.
This is the work of the Lord,
a marvel in our eyes.
This day was made by the Lord: we rejoice and are glad.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Second reading |
Colossians 3:1-4 © |
Look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is
Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed – and he is your life – you too will be revealed in all your glory with him.
Sequence |
Victimae Paschali Laudes
Christians, to the Paschal Victim
offer sacrifice and praise.
The sheep are ransomed by the Lamb;
and Christ, the undefiled,
hath sinners to his Father reconciled.
Death with life contended:
combat strangely ended!
Life’s own Champion, slain,
yet lives to reign.
Tell us, Mary:
say what thou didst see
upon the way.
The tomb the Living did enclose;
I saw Christ’s glory as he rose!
The angels there attesting;
shroud with grave-clothes resting.
Christ, my hope, has risen:
he goes before you into Galilee.
That Christ is truly risen
from the dead we know.
Victorious king, thy mercy show!
Gospel Acclamation | 1Cor5:7-8 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Christ, our passover, has been sacrificed:
let us celebrate the feast then, in the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 20:1-9 © |
He must rise from the dead
It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’
So Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in. Simon Peter who was following now came up, went right into the tomb, saw the linen cloths on the ground, and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed. Till this moment they had failed to understand the teaching of scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
HOW DOES ONE COME TO EASTER FAITH?
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 10:34,37-43; COLOSSIANS 3:1-4; JOHN 20:1-9]
It was St Augustine who said, “There is nothing special in believing that Jesus died; even pagans and the Jews and reprobates believe this; everyone believes it. The great thing is to believe that he rose from the dead. The faith of Christians is the resurrection of Christ.” Why is this so? The truth is that the death of Christ does not testify to His claims of His divinity or His identification with the cause of His Father. He could have died for a wrong cause or died unjustly even though He certainly died in good faith, believing that His cause was good. At most we can say that His death is a testimony of His love for His Father and for us all. But we cannot surmise from His death that His life, words, and works are definitively from God.
In the resurrection, we see the Father vindicating all that Jesus said and did. The resurrection is said to be the endorsement of the Father on the life, death, words and works of Jesus. By raising a ‘criminal’ from the dead, the Father vouches and declares that Jesus’ claims are true. It was the Father’s “Yes” to the person, ministry and suffering of Jesus. It shows the fidelity of the Father that He would not abandon His Son. In the resurrection, the Trinity is revealed because the resurrection is the work of the Trinity. The Father raised the Son back to life through the Holy Spirit. And as a result, He is made Lord and God. Jesus is now seated at the right hand of His Father. Hence, we see how the resurrection makes the sacrifice of the cross intelligible. Without the cross, the resurrection would not be unconditional love. Without the resurrection, the cross would not be power.
The resurrection therefore is the basis of Christian joy and hope. Because Jesus is risen from the dead, we no longer have to fear sin or death. Sin has been overcome by Christ’s death on the cross. Sin which separates us from God is now removed by His sacrifice on the cross. With the death of Jesus, we know that God loves us unconditionally and has forgiven us our sins. And that no matter how great a sinner we are, He loves us still. St Peter said in his first homily, “He has ordered us to proclaim this to his people and to tell them that God has appointed him to judge everyone, alive or dead. It is to him that all the prophets bear this witness: that all who believe in Jesus will have their sins forgiven through his name.”
Secondly, His death on the cross reveals that love is greater than hatred. Very often we think that evil seems to be winning over good. At least it seems that way. This is true even during the time of Jesus. The disciples of Jesus must be appalled at the way their master was arrested, mocked, humiliated, scourged, and crucified. Jesus the innocent one was wrongly condemned and put to death. By all counts, it looked as if evil had the upper hand. Yet, Jesus never took things into His own hands. He could have called His disciples to revolt and defend Him. Instead, He forbade them to act violently. Instead, He commended everything to the Father, saying, “Into your hands, I commend my spirit.” Precisely, at that moment when everyone thought all was finished in the sense that it was a failure, the Father raised Him from the dead. He demonstrated that justice and love will prevail at the end of the day. Love has the last word, not hatred. Justice will be restored.
Thirdly, the resurrection of Jesus means that we no longer have to fear death. Many people live in fear of death. Many try to avoid death. Today, old age and death is masqueraded. People in the world try to prolong life for as long as possible. Some even try to clone themselves. People want to look young or pretend to be still young. There is a denial of the reality of death. This is the trick of the devil so that we will never think about death. Physical death will come but we will not be extinguished from the face of the earth, like those without faith. Our life is not only lived in this world and for this world but for the world to come. This is what St Paul tells us. In his letter to the Colossians, he wrote, “Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed – and he is your life – you too will be revealed in all your glory with him.” By His resurrection, Jesus assures us that life continues even after this life on earth. There is the hope of the resurrection when everything will be transformed and we will share in the fullness of life, where there will be no more weeping or tears.
For this reason, we can rejoice even in our suffering, hopelessness and forsakenness. No longer do we need to live in fear of extinction or of eternal death. We no longer have to rely on ourselves. Rather, our strength comes from God alone who will vindicate us and see that justice is done. We can trust that God will deliver us from our enemies, our sins, our suffering and even death. Like the psalmist, we can say, “Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end. Let the sons of Israel say: ‘His love has no end.’ The Lord’s right hand has triumphed; his right hand raised me up. I shall not die, I shall live and recount his deeds. The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner stone. This is the work of the Lord, a marvel in our eyes. This day was made by the Lord: we rejoice and are glad.”
In the light of the resurrection, we can now fully live our lives. A young man asked the master, “How can we live fully?” And the master said, “Be prepared for death.” The young man clarified further, “How can we be prepared for death?” And the master said, “By living fully.” Life and death are not two opposite realities. We live by dying to self and when we die, we live. Resurrection is not only in the next life but already in this life. We are called to live as fully in this life so that we are prepared for the next life. If we do not live fully now, we cannot speak of the fullness of life after death. St Paul in his letter to the Romans urges us to die with Christ so that we can rise with Him. Only by dying with Him in baptism to our sins, can we rise to a new life. “Or are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection … Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.” Again, he wrote to the Corinthians, “Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed; let us celebrate the feast, then, by getting rid of all the old yeast of evil and wickedness, having only the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” We can now walk in the truth for we know that by His Spirit in us, we too can rise with the Lord as we die to our sins and selfishness.
But this resurrected life hinges on whether we believe in His resurrection! Although all Christians profess in the resurrection of Christ, is this profession of faith really from the depth of our hearts or merely a lip service or an intellectual assent? In other words, do we believe that He is truly risen? This is the crux of our celebration. We read that it took the disciples of Jesus some time to come to faith in the Risen Lord. Mary of Magdala saw the empty tomb but thought the body was stolen. In Luke’s gospel, we read that “Peter, however, went running to the tomb. He bent down and saw the binding cloths but nothing else; he then went back home, amazed at what had happened.” The evangelist noted, “Till this moment they had failed to understand the teaching of scripture, that he must rise from the dead.” Nevertheless, we read also “then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed.” What about us? Having seen the signs ourselves, we too like the disciples must make an act of faith in Christ’s resurrection. Signs like the Empty Tomb are not proofs. The empty tomb simply means that He is not here. But faith must add, “He is risen!” Can we make this act of faith in the Risen Lord?
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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