Beloved Brothers and Sisters, Christ is Risen, Alleluia!
The Resurrection of Christ was a decisive event in the life of the Church. The blessed apostle Paul, also an eyewitness to the risen Christ, writes this, “if Christ has not been raised from the dead, then our preaching is empty, and …your faith is vain, you are still in your sins, and those who have fallen asleep in Christ, have perished. And if for this life we have hoped only in Christ, we are the most miserable people of all,” – 1Cor. 15: 14-19.
But, because Christ, our Lord, came out of the tomb, that is why we are here.
Otherwise, the whole thing would be unfortunate, and I wouldn’t have the blessing of meeting you all, so beautiful, so amazing, kind, and gentle brothers and sisters in Christ. “Our birth would have been no gain, had we not been redeemed,” the Exultet reminded us, last night. Death would have had the final word – and nothing beyond that. But as it is now, death, the last enemy to be defeated, has been trampled underfoot. Christ has triumphed over death. And Christ carries with Him, out of the tomb, our human nature to His victory.
The night that Christ came out of the tomb was like that blessed silent night when a little plant springs out of the earth, when new life comes out of the ground and appears at sunrise of a beautiful morning. When Hope is restored, faith is strengthened, and love continues to flow.
But we must ask, is the empty tomb a necessary condition to prove the resurrection of Christ? Absolutely! The answer is an emphatic yes! For, how could the risen Christ remain in the tomb? How can life be confined to the grave? How can Christ be risen if he is still lying in the tomb? What kind of resurrection would that be?
Today the Gospel reading puts much emphasis on the tomb being open and “empty” – “He is risen, He is not here!” Christ is truly risen, a new life begins, no more to the old. And we rise with Him to a new life. He says to us, “awake, o sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light,” – Ephesians 5:14. Yes, awake from the sleep of sin, arise from the tomb of sin, get out of the grave of sin – Christ opens for us the door to new life. Remain not in the tomb of ignorance.
Come out, from the grave of fear, that irrational fear that blocks your progress, arise from the grave of low self-esteem, say, no more to self-pity, no more to unnecessary pressures, become the person God made you to be, arise to sainthood – to holiness, to purity, to chastity, to courage, to virtue, assume the dignity that is yours, the dignity of the children of God, children of light, not of darkness. Arise to life, arise to your true potential, assume your destiny, arise to the world of possibilities, awake to self-discovery, arise to the beauty of love. “At last, I have discovered my true vocation, I will be love in the midst of the Church my mother,” so said the little flower.
Let us then, rise with Christ, let us get out of the tomb. Let us celebrate Easter not with the old yeast of wickedness, but with the new life of sincerity and truth. This, my friends, this is the true meaning of our celebration of Christ’s resurrection from the dead.
May God grant to you all a very Blessed, Cheerful, and fabulous Easter!
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