Easter Sunday Morning

20th April, 2014

 Acts 10:34,37-43; Col 3:1-4 & John 20:1-9

This morning we are rejoicing with the Universal Church. This is the day of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! Our Lenten journey, I’m sure, has brought about a change of heart in each one of us — whether in small or large ways. So now we are ready; now we can share in the joy of Easter. We can share in Jesus’ triumph over death. This is the day of the ‘new creation’. This is truly the day that the Lord has made!

We have this beautiful Paschal Candle that reminds us that it represents Christ and that he is the light of the world. So my dear friends we have been raised with Christ. And St. Paul tells us in our second reading this morning — that if we are raised with Christ, then one day we will appear with him in glory. So we need to live with that confidence — with that powerful hope. Christ is risen and we will rise with him! This is our Easter joy. Because we have the certainty of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ and that gives us hope:  the hope of eternal life.

So whatever it is that worries us or is a burden for us in our lives, if we trust in Jesus, if we follow him, if we ask for his help, he is always there for each one of us. Because he is alive! His disciples found his tomb empty, as we just heard in the Gospel this morning. Let us reflect for a moment on what those disciples must have felt.

St John, an eyewitness in this account, tells us it was still dark, early in the morning. They came to the tomb, but they found the stone had been rolled away. They entered into the tomb and they found his burial clothes lying there. But Jesus was not there. He is risen! So today, we are as they were, witnesses of Jesus’ Resurrection. We are called, as they were, to go out and proclaim what we have seen and what we believe: that Christ indeed has risen from the dead!

The Resurrection of Jesus is a mission for us. His Resurrection is a powerful call to holiness and evangelization: to bring to the world, the life and teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. That mission means becoming the light of Christ in our world. And it means carrying that light to all the dark places where there is sin and injustice; poverty and suffering. It means being Christ for others.

So let us go forward this morning with faith and confidence in the Resurrection! Let us walk with the risen Jesus — living according to his way of thinking and acting. Let us work for the good of the Church and the common good of our world — of our city, of our communities, of our families —so that we open up the door of faith to others, so that they also may want to walk in Jesus’ footsteps.

I wish all of you and your families Easter blessings! Blessed are you who believe in his Resurrection!

Bishop Leslie Tomlinson