REJOICE & BE GLAD
Easter Sunday
Acts 10:34, 37-43; 1Col 3:1-4; Jo 20:1-9
"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad."
Last year I took the seminarians of my class for a field trip to Earthman Funeral Home in Houston, Texas. The Funeral manager and director explained to us the process of how to help the family at the death of their loved ones. Then he gave us a tour of the Funeral home. He took us to the showroom where we saw different kinds of caskets with different prices. Some costs up to 25,000 dollars. The least expensive was about 1,500 dollars. I asked the manager, "Why do you make such expensive caskets and people have to spend so much money for it? Don't you and they realize that when Jesus died, he did not even have a tomb? His disciples had to burry him in someone else’s tomb."
The Funeral Home’s manager defended, "But father, Jesus needed it for only three days!"
Visiting the Tomb
Visiting the tomb of a loved one is a common practice. People go to visit the tombs or the graves of their loved ones because they miss them. It is a sign of love and a desire not to let go of the loved ones. For me every time I go home to visit my family, I also go to the cemetery to visit the grave of my dad. The Gospel tells us that very early in the morning on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb of Jesus to visit, to mourn or just to be there hoping to find some comfort for the feelings of sadness and emptiness in her heart. But, as soon as she gets there, she is shock to see the stone has been removed from the tomb. She immediately assumes that someone has taken her loving Jesus from the tomb. In shock, she runs back to tell the other apostles. And also in shock, Peter and John race to the tomb. They find the tomb empty. They see the burial cloths are still there, but the tomb is empty; and consequently their hearts are empty too. They have lost their leader; and now there is no sign of where his body is. There is nothing for them to hold on to. There is no sign of Jesus any more. He is gone.
Our Shock
Many of us are also in shock because of the accusations and allegations of the sexual abuses of minors by some priests of the Church. Many people are hurt, angry and disappointed. We too feel a tremendous sadness and a great emptiness in our hearts. At time, we feel as if the Church is also an empty tomb. Some has questioned the credibility, the leadership and the moral authority of the Church. Some people have decided to leave the Church. We are not. We are still gathering here this morning as faithful Catholics because we believe "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad." How can we be rejoice and be glad?
Recalling the Good Memories
The disciples witnessed the death of Jesus, their leader. They were devastated. Mary, Peter and John all run out to the tomb. They all see the empty tomb. They all see the evidences. The burial cloths and the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head were rolled up in separate places. But they stay together; they wonder; they reflect, and they believe. In the first reading, Peter is recalling all his memories about Jesus of Nazareth. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. How God was with Jesus, and how Jesus went about doing good and healing for the poor and the oppressed. How they put Jesus to death by hanging him on a tree. And now Peter is testifying that God has raised Jesus from the death. Jesus is alive. He has appeared to him and to the other apostles. They have encountered the Risen Lord. He is no longer buried in a tomb.
Transformation
This is a very important event in human history. It is important because of the transformation it brought about in Jesus. Jesus has been raised to new life; and because of Him, the whole world has also been raised to new life. Look at Peter. A few days earlier, he was a coward. Three times he denied knowing Jesus: "I don't know what you are talking about!" "I don't even know the man you are talking about." But once he encountered the Risen Lord, he became a new and courageous person publicly testifying for the risen Lord. The joy of Easter is the transformation that Jesus brings to the world, to Peter and to his disciples, to you and to me. We rejoice and we are glad because we are being transformed from grief to joy; from confusion to clarity; from despair to faith; from death to life; from darkness to light. Everything has been redeemed in Jesus Christ. Life will never be the same again. It is time for us to recall and remember that Jesus is the founder of the Church. It is time for us to remember that Jesus is the One whom we follow. What happened to Jesus in Jerusalem is what God wants to happen to us today. God wants to re-create us.
The Tomb and the Stone
Each of us in this church may find ourselves buried in a tomb. It may be a tomb of resentment because of some hurt received from someone. It may be a tomb of fear about the future and what it holds for us. It may be a tomb of confusion about our faith and how to deal with it. Or it may be a tomb of despair about some difficult situation in our lives and how to handle it. Every one of us can rise from a tomb that buries us. We can get out of the these tombs and leave them empty because "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad." We might not have the power to remove the stones that cover our tombs. But the power of the Risen Lord will take these stones away for us. By God's power Christ's grave was opened. By God's power the stone that holds you and me buried can be taken away too. They might be the stone of selfishness, of being concerned only with our own good. There might be a stone of greed, a stone of gluttony, a stone of lust, the stone of indifference or lack of love that keeps us from trying to please God, keep us from trying to do good to our neighbor.
What is the stone you would like to have taken away so that you can come forth with Christ, bright and powerful? Is it impurity, dishonesty, laziness, pride, anger, envy or whatever? With the help of Christ, let’s roll and Easter will be a day of rejoice and glad for all of us. Last Tuesday about 300 hundred priests of our Diocese gathered at St. Mary’s Seminary for a day of prayer, reconciliation and renewing our commitment to serve God and God’s people with love and dedication at the Chrism Mass. St. Paul in the second reading reminds us, "Brothers and sisters: If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above... Think of what is above." And this is our faith. This is our strength. We believe in the power of our Risen Lord. "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad."
Rev. John Kha Tran, Houston, TX
