Easter Sunday The Resurrection of the Lord (Homily)
April 04, 2021 11:30 am · Sergio Muñoz Fita
I would like to begin my words today by wishing you all a happy Easter. I ask you to convey my greetings also to all your family and friends, whether they come to this parish or not. I especially want to remember all those who, because of illness or age, cannot be with us today celebrating here in the church the triumph of the Risen Christ.
The main cause of our joy this morning is the triumph of Jesus Christ. We are not rejoicing today primarily because of the benefit of his Resurrection for us. Our hearts are filled with joy this Sunday because Jesus has overcome the confines of death and lives forever with the Father in Heaven. When he seemed completely defeated, the one whom we love has risen, glorious, and has taken his place at the right hand of the almighty power of the Most High. Our brother Jesus teaches us the great lesson of trust in God. Evil and sin are not more powerful than grace and divine life. It is true that sometimes, many times, it seems that the enemies of the Cross of Christ dominate the battlefield, but this is a falsa perception: in reality, the battle has already been decided and it is God's side that will win the final victory.
We see Christ glorified today: luminous, strong, the most beautiful of all the children of men, filled with eternal life. He is the Good Shepherd who has walked through the valleys of death and today leads us to the green pastures of blissful eternity in Paradise. Truly, St. Paul was right when he wrote that if Jesus had not risen, we would be miserable. How can anyone live without this hope? Man sinks under the weight of his own darkness when he does not allow the light of God to flood every corner of his soul. Today, however, the Sun that knows no sunset shines and is no longer extinguished.
Lord, rejoice in the infinite happiness that today permeates your whole body and soul and which is the reward with which your Father and our Father crowns you after your faithfulness in the trial.
Today we also rejoice because we have been given the only hope that does not disappoint. It does not disappoint because what we hope to receive someday, we see already realized in the risen Christ. We are not waiting for something good that we desire but do not know if it will really happen. It has already happened in the glorified flesh of the Son of God. What for us is the future is already present for the risen Jesus. Nothing can extinguish this radiant Light. We walk towards a freedom that has already been conquered for us.
Dear brothers and sisters, the Resurrection of the Lord is not only hope for life after death. It is also a spur to live already now in the grace of the Risen Lord. We are invited to be witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, announcing to people who are so confused, that the Lord lives and that he desires to save them. We are called to show the world the reflection of the Risen Lord in the simple and precious holiness of our ordinary life. We are to be spreaders of grace, Easter joy and glory in our families and our communities.
Let us have faith in the One who never fails and let us live waiting to see him, as the apostles did, face to face. Until that time comes, let us be faithful to the Lord Jesus and work in the Church for the salvation of the world. Let us live the new life that he gives us today and let us face the crosses of this life with the certainty that "the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us.” (Rom 8:18)
May the Lord grant us an everlasting life with him, with our Mother Mary and with all the saints in the joys of eternity.
