Easter Sunday Homily by Fr. Marcel Uzoigwe
(Acts 10:34,37-43, Col.3:1-4 & Jn 20:1-9)
Today we joyfully celebrate the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It was all dark for the disciples of Jesus on Good Friday when they watched their master being put to death and buried. Their experience got no better as the day dawned on Saturday with Jesus still in the tomb. But “on the first day of the week” something different happened. Their darkness was turned to light and their sorrows melted away. Fear disappeared as courage took the stage. Sin and death were conquered by righteousness and life.
As today’s gospel reading relates, very early in the morning of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalen went to the tomb to perform the burial rituals that could not be properly done earlier because of the Sabbath preparations. Certainly, Mary Magdalen wasn’t going to the tomb to see the Risen Lord but to anoint the body of Jesus whom she so much loved for changing her life for good. There is something about Mary’s action that is touching. Her encounter with Jesus that transformed her life has resulted to such a great love for Jesus that she remained united with him even in death. It is common for people to abandon their friends in difficulty. But Mary Magdalen’s first thought in the morning was Jesus in the tomb. By so doing, she became the first to encounter the risen Lord Jesus. While her first encounter with Jesus brought a transformation from being a dejected sinner to being a beloved follower of Jesus, the second encounter with the risen Lord made her the first witness to the power of the resurrection.
The story of the resurrection is, therefore, a story of encounter – the concept of being born-again. To be touched by Christ, like Mary Magdalen was, is to be resurrected. The ability to say, I used to be this kind of sinner/person or the other, but not any more, is the story of the resurrection. Not just observing the empty tomb, but walking away from it as a Christian is the issue at stake. Even the disciples of Jesus needed conversion to the reality of the resurrection. Easter is therefore a great event because, in Christ, and because of his death and resurrection, a new dawn of grace has arrived. Christ’s resurrection ushers in the divine power that dispels the darkness of sin and death, and gives way to the light of Christ, the Rising Sun of God bringing happiness and forgiveness to our lives. The power of the resurrection opens the door for a new evangelization. It is an evangelization by the testimony of repentant and forgiven sinners to the power of love, the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ. With the resurrection of Christ, every sinner has a hope of a share in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Yes, the hope of a life beyond the grave finds its concretization in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Mary Magdalene prepares the way for our first reading today, she convinces us that the power of the resurrection is present in every encounter with Jesus. Anyone who encounters Jesus in His word and embraces the teaching is destined for the resurrection/immortality: “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24). These two-fold encounters (what Jesus did while physically present, and what he does today through the power in His word) are evident in the speach of Peter in the house of Cornelius.
In his speech (our first reading), Peter takes his listeners down memory lane, in order to prove the power in the encounter people had with Jesus: “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” (Acts 10:37-38). It was important for Peter to link the person of Jesus with the effect of his encounter with the people during his time on earth for Cornelius to understand the experience that made him send for Peter. That served as a step for Cornelius and his household to understand the mystery of Jesus’s death and resurrection that Peter was going to explain. As humans, we meet with several people every now and then. But only experiences of special encounters linger on in our memories. These experinces enable us to know something about the person beyond what is readily observeable. Being touched by the word of God enables us to seek to know more of Jesus and the power of His resurrection, like Paul desired in Phil. 3:10.
Our second reading provides us with an index to measure whether we have resurrected: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:1-2). There is one fundamental reason for this new lifestyle because “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God”. That implies that mundane concerns should give way to Christlike attitudes. By living the love of Jesus and making it felt by those around us, we proclaim Him alive. Each time we let go of our selfish interests to be of service to others, we become the embodiment of the risen Lord in their midst. Helping others in difficulty, especially during this Corona pandemic period is replicating Jesus’s life in the world of today. The unfortunate situation of the Corona virus has forced us to realize how unimportant some of the things that consume our time and efforts are. We now realize the most important things in life which are life and love. And these are the very things that Jesus offers us in His resurrection: the power to live and to love.
As a people who have encountered the love and mercy of God in the risen Lord, this is our chance to bear testimony to that love. Being freed from the power of sin and death, we have been granted life, justification and grace. Above all, we are now entrusted with the mission of bearing witness to the good news of salvation to others. You and I who celebrate the Risen Lord have been made missionaries and preachers of God’s offer of forgiveness, love and life. That is the Easter gift to us. May His resurrection open new channels of love and service in His name, and may we enjoy the fullness of Life in His presence (John 10:10). Amen.
(Featured photo credit: Jonathan Petersson)