The Risen Lord is Here!

April 24, 2011

Alleluia! Our Lord Jesus Christ is risen from the death. He is risen indeed! Happy Easter!

1. The Empty Tomb is a sign of Resurrection

When Mary Magdalene found the open tomb, she went and told Peter and John: they have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him”. After Peter and John went and they saw the empty tomb and the cloths, they believed.

Generally speaking, the empty tomb can not be a sufficient witness of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. So, for the leaders of Jews, the empty tomb may means that “the disciples stole the body of Jesus” as they told Pilate to secure the tomb. But for the disciples, the empty tomb and the clothes of Jesus Christ are signs of His Resurrection. They had the experience with Jesus Christ for three years, especially the way he put his cloths; they heard Jesus predicted his death and resurrection at least three times before things happened. Being disciples of Jesus Christ, their sensitivity of heart and their vision of world are changed day by day. From a small sign, they can see the action and the presence of God in their life. Normally people understand things through mind and sense. The empty tomb makes sense for the disciples. 

The difference between Christians and others are the different interpretation of our life and our world. The majority interprets life and the world through power, usefulness and self-centered ideas which are also the mainstream culture of our society. Christians interpret life and the world through love, sacrifice and the vision of Jesus Christ which is our faith. The new life of the disciples is their experience with the Risen Jesus Christ. They are the Church of Christ.

2. The Church of Resurrection

Some of the modern theologies try to separate Jesus from his Church, Which they use the well-known slogan: “Jesus, yes; Church, no”. The communion with Jesus has to include the communion with Jesus’ brothers and sisters, which is our Church. We know Jesus through Church---the body of Christ.

Christian Church is a people of the disciples of Jesus Christ who have met the Risen Jesus in our life. During our joyful season of Easter, we will hear a lot of the stories in which the Risen Lord appeared to his disciples. In today’s first reading, we heard Peter who then was weak and had denied Jesus three times while Jesus was suffering, this new Peter was preaching the good news of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ with confidence and passion to the people in Jerusalem. The Risen Lord had changed Peter’s life.

Along the history of our Church, tens of thousands of saints also had experienced the Risen Jesus in their life during their time. They have found the authentic meaning of life, and responded to the calling of Christ by sharing the good News to the world. The history of the Church is a history of experiencing and preaching the Risen Jesus Christ in every time and in every context. From all the saints and missionaries, we accept the Good News of Jesus Christ: God loves us to the end. There is not a place where we can not find the Love of God; there is not a person who is out of the Love of God. On the Cross, Jesus forgave all the people who persecuted him; after the Resurrection, Jesus did not choose to punish his enemies. Jesus sent his disciples to preach the Love of God for all, to proclaim the forgiveness of sins.

3. The Risen Lord is here

St. Paul, like all of us, did not have the similar bodily experience with Jesus like the disciples; he had a special experience at Damascus with the Risen Lord. This experience changed his life and his vision of the world. So he told us all Christians: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God”. As Christians, by the sacrament of baptism, we have already raised with Jesus Christ from death.

Being Christians, we have the privilege of experiencing the past and the future here and now, especially in this holy Eucharist. We listen to the Good News of Jesus Christ from his disciples at the very time of Paschal event. We meet Jesus Christ in our time, as Mary Magdalene and all the disciples, when we receive the Holy Communion. We also receive the vocation from Jesus Christ in our holy Church to preach the same Good News to the people in our family, in our community and the whole world. When we come to Church to celebrate the Easter Mass, the Risen Lord is right here with us.

Pope Benedict XVI in one of his books said: “The power of God is hope and joy: this is the liberation revealed at Easter. The paschal revelation gives us the right to sing “Alleluia” in a world overcast with the cloud of death.”

Through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we Christians have been changed into the children of God, the light of others and the hope of the whole world. With the passion of Jesus Christ, we preach the Love of God to the people who are deeply influenced by fear. With the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we sing and invite all the people singing with us “Alleluia” in the world shadowed by death.

Let us sing with the whole Church: the Lord is Risen! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!