Homily Easter (2021) “Jesus is Alive”
Homily Easter (2021) “Jesus is Alive”
The stories of Jesus’ resurrection were written down many decades after his death. If we look at Matthew, Mark Luke and John the details of the stories vary greatly.
One small example would be the story of the ascension. The writer of Gospel of Luke is the same writer who wrote the Acts of the Apostles. In the Gospel of Luke Jesus appears to his apostles on Easter Sunday. He walks out to the edge of town. Jesus ascends to the heavens. When Luke next turns his attention to the Acts of the Apostles, it is jarring that he mentions the Ascension again. When he relates the story in that work, he says it happened 40 days after Easter. For those of us who live in the modern world this seems like a disturbing incongruity. For Luke and his readers, it was no big deal.
We want to read the Gospels like they are newspaper accounts. We want the facts nothing, but the facts. We think when we hear the Gospel stories that it is like watching an instant replay of a final four game. We want to see exactly what happened. We want to make our judgements from the evidence about what we believe.
But the resurrection accounts were not meant to describe an exact rendition of everything that went on Easter Sunday. What we have is not a police report where we hear the Many Magdalene arrived at the tomb at 5:01 a.m. and found the stone had been rolled away. At 5:10 she went to find the Apostles. At 6 a.m. Mary, Peter and the beloved disciple came back to find the tomb empty.
No, what we have a variety of stories that have been passed down through generations. We could compare it to several witnesses seeing a car accident. Each witness usually has a different impression. Witnesses hear various noises, note different things. All of them have an opinion as to what driver was at fault. When we take all the testimonies together, we might come up with an accurate picture of what happened.
When we look at the stories of Jesus resurrection, we would do best not to get distracted by attempting to reconcile all the different versions. The early Christians weren’t concerned with an exact calendar of events. If all the stories did not blend in a consistent narrative, it made no difference to them. We would be so better to ask the question, what was the overall message the early Christians were trying to pass on?
The first message that the Apostles wanted to share was that Jesus is alive. All the accounts relate the tomb was empty. Jesus’ body was resurrected. Beyond that fact, encounters with the risen Jesus were, we might say, personal to the people involved. Each Christian had their own story of Jesus being alive. Even if a person wasn’t at the tomb, even if they weren’t in the upper room, they could have experiences of the resurrected Jesus. We need only remember St. Paul who met the risen Jesus months after his death. His experience was something that changed his whole life, even it was a very personal one. Yes, the message of Easter is that Jesus is alive, and you could meet him.
The second message is that Jesus is victorious, he had the last word. The powers of this world tried to destroy him because he was a threat to the established order. He proclaimed a kingdom where the lowly would be raised up, where injustices would be rectified, where everyone was equal before God, where the haves would be pressured to share with the have nots, where racism would be a thing of the past, where religious bigotry would be left behind. Because he said these things he was put to death. The people who hated him wanted to erase the memory of him. But Jesus won. His message has been proclaimed for 2,000 years. Every tyrant that has tried to wipe out His memory has failed.
We are left to ponder where we see this Jesus who is alive? Have we felt his presence? Where has his spirit moved in our lives? If we were to take a moment to ask anyone in the church to share their experiences of Jesus, how many stories would we hear? Jesus still changes lives today. We are also left to ask the question if we live in Jesus’ Kingdom? How are we trying to change oppressive systems and make them better? Are we Christians who sit and wait for the second coming? Are we Christians whose only goal to save our own soul? Or do we work for peace and justice for all?
On Easter if we don’t just ponder an event that happened two thousand years ago, we probably eat our Easter dinner, enjoy our Monday holiday, we yawn, we go on with the mundane things of life. On the other hand, if we seek evidence that Jesus is alive, if we fight to the advance the kingdom, a flame of faith is alive in us that will not be extinguished.
Reflection Questions:
- Have I encountered Jesus in my life in a tangible way? What did that look like?
- When has the teachings of Jesus challenged my behavior? Would it be easier not to believe in Jesus?
Dear Parishioners,
Happy Easter! We have arrived at a very special time of year. In our parish, we will be having many wonderful celebrations in the next few weeks, but they will be somewhat muted again this spring. Last night at the Easter Vigil, we had nine baptisms and we had several people get confirmed and make their first communion. It was a joyful time for all concerned.
I would like to thank all those who helped us celebrate Holy Week in a reverent and dignified way. I would especially like to acknowledge our musicians, liturgical ministers and those who decorated the church. We did not have as many people involved as we normally would and services were more complicated because of COVID, but we still had a great Easter. I would like to thank all parishioners who adjusted their schedule because of the pandemic, especially those who had to watch our services on Livestream. I appreciate your understanding.
Next Monday we will be having our yearly Confirmation celebration. Bishop Tylka will be here so that will make it an even better day. Please pray for the eighth graders who will be making this significant step in their life.
May Our Lady and All the Angles and Saints Watch over You today.
Fr. Mark