09 April 2023 – Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord (At Mass during the Day) (Year A)

by Fr Joachim Robert

Dear friends,

On this Easter morning when it was very, very early, we see Mary of Magdala going to the tomb while it was still dark. And as she went, she saw that the stone was rolled away, moved away from the tomb. And after that, she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciples and she said to them: “They have taken the Lord.“

As we look at our own Easter experiences, dear friends, the experience of hope, the experience of resurrection in our own journey of life, we come to realise that sometimes we are unable to answer all the questions that we have in our lives.

But the more we try to ask, perhaps the more questions we will have. But more importantly, we must come to realise that our faith in the resurrection, our faith in the hope of the resurrection, is what moves us and drives us to a deeper relationship with God. Because when we are confronted with grief, with sadness, with loneliness, we are unable to see what is beyond what we are going through.

But the mystery of the resurrection gives us a new horizon to look at. A new horizon that is enlightened by the light of Christ. And because Christ has made that possible, by rising from the dead, He allows that light of Christ to shine in our dark moments and lead us forward and step forward in faith.

And I am sure, dear friends, these whole experiences of the early church of encountering the mysteries of God, and encountering Jesus, coming towards Him and after seeing and after acknowledging what He has said, what He has taught, after that they became witnesses of His love and His mercy. What they received, they shared. In that same way, dear friends, you and I are called to do the same.

Yesterday, we had a whole Rite of Baptism where people who had this desire of faith in their hearts continue to search for that stirring in their heart and they took that step forward to come to understand who this Jesus was. And after they made that step forward, they were prepared, they were formed not only in their head but also in their heart so that they are able to understand the ways of God, so that they can become witnesses of the gospel.

And you and I, dear friends, have gone through the same experiences like them as well, as the early church. And how do we confront with those situations, those realities of life and then become proclaimers of that word of God?

Because very often, dear friends, the challenges and obstacles that we are confronted with, we are unable to see beyond. We are unable to move beyond our own understanding, we are not able to see beyond our own comprehension but somehow or perhaps people in our lives have made us realise the ways of God and have led us deeper into that encounter of God.

And today, today as well, we come to celebrate that invitation. The invitation that God gives us, who draws us into Himself and after that, dear friends, to go and proclaim what God has done in our lives. And perhaps that is why all of us are here. We know that deep down in our hearts there is this longing and this stirring in our hearts, wanting to encounter Jesus, and wanting to understand the mysteries of God.

And this whole day of preparation, this whole week of preparation was one that we journeyed together into Jerusalem to Palm Sunday. Throughout the whole Holy Week and then entering into Holy Thursday at the institution of the Eucharist, and the institution of the priesthood and the commandment of love that God has given to us. And then we entered into that journey of Good Friday to see how cruel we can be as individuals, how evil we can be sometimes but ultimately the gravity of sin and the depths of God’s love says to us that love has the final end. Love has the final end and because of Jesus’ resurrection, you are able to proclaim that goodness of God, to proclaim the love of God because He has enlightened the world.

And you and I, dear friends, as we come to embrace that mysteries of God, as we come to realise how God has been working in and through our lives, perhaps some people who have allowed us to make mistakes, people who have journeyed together with us, people who have accompanied us. And even as I reflect on the whole journey of the baptism yesterday of all our Catechumens, that journey that they have taken, needs to be inspiring us, dear friends. That journey that they come to know their faith must allow us to understand the ways of God, to go back to our Galilees, to go back from where we have come from and then acknowledging the love that the Father has for us.

And after acknowledging the love that the Father has for us, then to be able to see in the light of faith, illumined by Christ and then become like Mary of Magdala. When she saw the empty tomb, she was not able to grapple. She saw the stone was rolled away but then running towards Simon Peter and the other disciples. And then after that they come to this realisation because till that moment, they had failed to understand the teachings of scripture that He must rise from the dead.

In your own journey of life, dear friends, God has indeed risen. God has indeed allowed His light to shine in and through you. Are we able to recognise? In your own life, are you able to recognise the light of Christ, the light of the resurrection, the light of your families? Are you able to recognise the resurrection in our community?

And we pray that in each and every step that we take, even as I see the young people today, the choir today, so many young of them, so many young persons, children who are willing to become proclaimers of the word in the little things that they do. By allowing their voice to give praise and thanks to God. Are we able to understand that that little effort that we make, that little effort that we put, we are indeed inspiring others and to allow the light of Christ to shine each time we take that step forward?

Because God is indeed becoming real in our lives. Because God is not dead. God is not in the tomb. God has arisen.

So today we pray, dear friends, that this Easter celebration, the resurrection of our Lord may continue to give us hope and to give us a renewed life, give us a renewed faith and the conviction of His love that God is always together with us. That God loves us and leads us to a greater hope in which we are unable to understand.

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