HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Easter Sunday (Year C)

Mar 31, 2013

3476

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First Reading

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (10:34a, 37-43)

Peter proceeded to speak and said: "You know what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commissioned us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name."

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians (3:1-4)

Brothers and sisters: if then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the Gospel according to John (20:1-9)

On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him."

So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead.

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

Once, a woman who was working in a biscuit factory was interviewed by a news reporter. The exchange went like this:

Reporter: How long have you worked here?

Lady: I have been working here since I left school (probably about fifteen years).

Reporter: Oh! Fifteen years, what do you do, what is your job?

Lady: I take packets of biscuits off the conveyor belt and put them into cardboard boxes.

Reporter: Have you always done the same job for fifteen years?

Lady: Yes.

Reporter: Do you enjoy it?

Lady: Oooh Yes, it's great, everyone is so nice and friendly.

Reporter (with a hint of disbelief): Really? Don't you find it a bit boring?

Lady: Oh no, sometimes they change the biscuits.

I wonder whether today is one of the days the churches change the "biscuits", for more Christians flock to churches to celebrate Easter Sunday. Whatever be the reason, your participation in today's celebration reveals the fact that there is the deepest desire in you to know, to believe, to worship and to listen to Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Do you enjoy the celebration of the Holy Eucharist every Sunday? Or do you say it is boring and is the same all the time? Friends, the Holy Eucharist may appear to be the same and yet it is different. While in its most basic the Holy Eucharist is the physical reenactment of Christ's Last Supper with his apostles, we do much more during the celebration. We share the gifts of God with God. We hear and meditate upon the Word of God. We thank God for his continued presence in our midst. We take part in a sacred meal to which we are all invited. We worship God who is the source of grace and life.

On January 27, 2013, a month before his retirement, our Pope Emeritus Benedict after concluding the midday Angelus prayer with the thousands of pilgrims who had flocked to Saint Peter's Square tweeted: "What does Sunday, the day of the Lord, mean to us? It is a day for rest and for family, but first of all, a day for Him. He spoke of how Sunday is a propitious (favorable / auspicious) day for people to entrust themselves, their prayers and intentions to the Lord, because on Sunday, through the Eucharist and His life-giving Word, we have a direct channel of communication with the Lord."

Particularly today is a special and joyful Sunday for all of us. Throughout the season of Lent and during this Holy Week, we consciously recounted the story of Jesus especially the last days of his life. Like the first friends of Jesus, millions of people, Christians and non-Christians, all over the world today gather in the churches and try to make sense of what we celebrate and, what we hear in the scriptures. The newly baptized are there for the first time perhaps looking into a sort of an empty place and wondering what they will find there. Even for most of us, who have gone to the same place again and again for many years, we are saying to ourselves, "Should I even believe this news of Jesus' resurrection? After all these years, our Christian life is probably still full of unanswered questions, doubts, and a mystery. Each of us may have come here seeking the Lord but perhaps only some have grasped the mystery of the resurrection and truly believe in him and his promise of eternal life, peace and joy whereas many have found just an empty tomb so far. Why is this so? What will we find when we come looking for Jesus?

The gospel says that Mary Magdalene saw the stone removed and ran to the disciples and told them, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb and we don't know where they have put him." The disciples arrived. One of them "bent down" and "saw" the burial cloths there, but did not go in. Peter went into the tomb and "saw" the burial cloths.

What do they say? Mary Magdalene was in a hurry to tell others that the tomb was empty. Peter saw something but could not understand and therefore did not believe. The other disciple first bent down and saw something but was reluctant to enter the tomb. When he did go the second time he saw and believed. This was because they did not understand the scriptures that Jesus had to be raised. As is always the case, the realities of life can only be properly understood in the light of the Word of God.

The message here is very clear for our own lives. Some of us seem unable to make sense of what is happening in our lives even after so many years in Christian faith. Like Mary Magdalene we could be so frustrated and confused not only with our own faith but also with married life, the priesthood, relationships and life situations and we so often fall into despair which robs us of any hope. And we also go around telling others that we only see an empty tomb. Some of us like Peter see something but not yet do not generate any faith. We hear him speak directly to us many times. Many times we recognize him in our brothers and sisters. And yet we pay no heed to him and his voice. Like the other disciple some of us see and hear the testimony but are reluctant to accept it first but then gradually we come to believe in him through the scriptures. The disciples came to believe in the resurrection and to understand its meaning to the extent that they understood the Scriptures. Let us continue to read and hear the scriptures attentively and faithfully so that we shall not only understand the true meaning of life, love, peace and joy but also truly experience them in our lives.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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