Easter Sunday, April 24, 2011

Scripture: Lectionary # 43. Acts 10:34,37-43. Psalm 118:1-2,16-17,22-23.
Colossians 3:1-4. I Corinthians 5:6-8 and John 20:1-9:

St. John Chrysostom emphatically tells us that no Christian should be sad
on Easter Sunday. He insinuates that this holds for the entire Easter
Season of fifty days of unbounded joy which takes us to the feast of
Pentecost. Christ is truly risen from the dead and everything is renewed
in this universe! John's Gospel is our Good News for the day. It
dramatically presents three of Jesus' closest friends who come to the tomb
and find it empty. They will soon experience the Risen Jesus and they are
overjoyed and yet somewhat fearful. Mary Magdalene was the first to come
to the tomb and she becomes the apostle to the apostles, Peter and John the
Beloved Disciple. The latter upon seeing the wrappings believes that Jesus
is risen and is fully alive. Peter had entered the tomb first, because John
allowed this out of deference. Perhaps, they both are remembering that
Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead and that Martha had declared, "I
know he (the Messiah) will rise again in the resurrection on the last
day." (John 11:24). Jesus tells her, "I am the resurrection and the life:
whoever believes in me, though he should die, will come to life; and
whoever is alive and believes in me will never die." (John 11:26).

Easter is now our season for rejoicing in this faith we have in Jesus. We
are among those who have not seen the empty tomb but we have believed the
witness of Jesus' disciples. We believe and each year our faith comes to a
deeper level of belief for we are among those declared by Jesus himself.
He says about us, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to
believe." (John 20:29). With Thomas we cry out and proclaim, "My Lord and
my God."

All of our readings are filled with Easter joy. In the Acts of the
Apostles, Peter gives us a speech that covers all of the Gospel and the
entire life of Jesus in his ministry among the other apostles. Peter
witnesses to the unbiding of sin, evil, and death by his proclamation of
the resurrection. We rejoice with our praise of God and with our
alleluiahs. "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be
glad." (Psalm 118). We listen to Paul giving us a Christian midrashic
interpretation of the uneleavened bread at Passover. We are that pure
sincere bread of freedom and truth given us by Christ the Paschal Lamb who
was sacrificed and now is alive among us in the breaking of the bread. We
will continue to share in this great day of rejoicing throughout the Easter
season. John Chrysostom is right; there is to be no sadness among us only
Easter joy. Alleluiah. Amen. Alleluiah.