A Very Happy and Blessed Easter to All! Today our 40-day Lenten pilgrimage culminates in Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead. Mary Magdalene delivers the disturbing news to Peter and the beloved disciple that the body of Jesus is missing from the place where they buried him on the preceding Friday. They race to the tomb only to find the tomb open and Jesus’ body gone. The tidied burial cloths raise a suspicion that Jesus’ body was not simply moved or stolen. Rather it must mean that he had been raised as he promised: “the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes and be killed, and rise after three days” (Mk. 8:31). God’s extravagant love has rolled away the stone and emptied the tomb! The beloved disciple sees and believes! Alleluia!
The Resurrection of Jesus is a pivotal moment in human history. It changes everything. No longer can death hold us down but becomes the doorway to a new and eternal life. As St. Paul says, “If the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you,” (Rom. 8:11). We have received that same Spirit in the waters of Baptism. We have become heirs of the promise of eternal life! If we have experienced the sadness of the death of someone we love, Easter calls us to renewed belief and hope that our loved ones are safe in the eternal embrace of God and await that day when we will be reunited with them. If we have experienced other losses or tragedies, dashed hopes and shattered dreams, Easter is time to remember that the “Good Fridays” of life, entrusted in faith to the love of God, will always give way to the “Easter Sundays” of new life. More than simply a “Hallmark holiday” of colored eggs and chocolate bunnies, Easter is truly transformative, the centerpiece of our faith, a life altering event for us all!
This Easter, 2022, we find Easter hope in the abetting of the pandemic. This is the first Easter in two years our celebrations are not overwhelmingly impacted by the restrictions to gathering in-person, or the wearing of masks, etc. While we are still cautious of course, we are definitely in a new place, far closer to resurrection, with the crucifixion experience of the pandemic moving into our rear view mirrors. At the same time, however, there is another Good Friday that looms large in front of us: that of the war in the Ukraine, where our sisters and brothers, young and old, military and civilian, are being targeted for destruction. No longer is it the Roman Empire crucifying a Jewish man, but a Russian leadership (not the Russian people by and large) seeking to regain an oppressive, imperial power over its neighbors. Right now for the Ukrainian people, it is very difficult to see past the cross. We are invited to become the hope of Easter for them, through the material assistance we provide, the prayers we offer, and the welcome we give to those who are seeking refuge. Perhaps we feel helpless in stopping the crucifixion of thousands of innocent people, and the destruction of a beautiful, peace-seeking nation. But we can be the light of resurrection for those who are injured and displaced by this terrible war. That same light of resurrection is needed too for others seeking refuge and assistance: from other wars around the globe including Afghanistan; the terror many of our neighbors south of the border face from gang, drug and domestic violence; and the economic deprivation and racial bias that afflict the residents of our own nation every day. This Easter may we stand before the empty tomb with the beloved disciple, and see and believe. May we believe in the power of the resurrection to ultimately defeat evil and death. May we share that message of hope in word and deed with our sisters and brothers in the world community. May we rejoice in the supreme love of our God who collects the pieces of our shattered dreams and refashions them into something more glorious that we could ever ask or imagine!