RevRobJack.com

Easter Sunday 2014

Every day the sun rises, our lives are filled with new hopes, new opportunities and sometimes new fears. God gives us a chance to begin again. This is a great gift that many times we take for granted. But there is something more that is going on when we got up this morning, and it was not just colored eggs, chocolate and jelly beans. We remember and recommit ourselves to the life that God has opened for us.

There are three big gifts that have been given us through the Bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The first is that darkness has been conquered by light. The world that has been ruled by the darkness and sin is enlightened by Jesus who rose from the dead and conquered sin. Evil likes to stay hidden in the shadows so it can work for our destruction, but the love of Jesus Christ has pointed the light of his glory on the evils of the world so that they will flee, because the Goodness of God will always overcome the darkness of sin. We are witness of that fact today.

The second gift of the resurrection is that life has conquered death. Mary Magdalene, John and Peter went to the tomb and found it empty. The one whom they loved and saw crucified was not there. The Gospel says that John saw and believed the promise that Jesus made that the Son of man would be handed over to evil men to be crucified, but would be raised from the dead. We live in a world that seems to be fascinated by zombies, the walking dead, the non-living who terrorize the living. The Resurrection of Jesus turns our gaze from the death and decay of the tomb to the brightness and life of loving, giving, forgiving and serving God and one another. Life means growth in wisdom, holiness and love. The resurrected life is a life of courage, faithfulness and the truth not only of what God says, but what he is doing even today for us. The resurrection tells us that God does not desire separation from him, but communion with him.

The third gift of the resurrection is doubt is conquered by faith. St. Peter tells the crowd in the Acts of the Apostles that he is a witness of Jesus death and resurrection, he has seen him. He has heard him. He has touched him. Jesus is real not only in history, but he is the Lord of all history. For those who believe, we do not say Jesus was. We say Jesus is. He is seeking to share his life with us through the gift of faith that was professed when we were baptized. He is willing to walk through the locked doors of our hearts and say “Peace be with you.”

In just a few minutes we will renew the promises that we made at our baptism. We will reject Satan and the darkness of sin in our lives. We will profess our faith in God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit. God the Father has made us his children worthy of the inheritance of everlasting life. Jesus his Son has conquered sin and death by taking on our human nature and offering his life out of love for the Father and us so that death will never have the final word on us. We profess our faith in the Holy Spirit, because it is that Spirit that is dwelling in us today, that makes it possible to love, to serve, to sacrifice, pray, worship  and to tell the world something that it would not even dare to hope for.

We recommit ourselves to God to be living witnesses to the power of the Risen Jesus Christ to love us, to form us and to bring us joy and meaning in life. He gives us his Body and Blood as the Sacrament of his commitment to us. He will never leave us. Today, we not only witness the Sun rise in the East, but we also we say with our heart and soul and mind that the Son of God has risen from the dead, and he has given us a new day, a new life, and a new love. Let us not take his gifts for granted, but use them for our good, our family’s good, and the good of the whole world.