ACTS 10:34A,37-43/ PS.118/ COL.3:1-4/ JOHN 20:1-9
Fr. Daniel Evbotokhai
The world Resurrection is from the Greek word Anastasis which means “raising up” or “standing up”. Jesus rose up after his death. On his way to Calvary when he fell he rose and now at last he rose from the dead. The bible says in 1 Cor. 15:14, that without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, “our preaching is in vain and our faith is in vain.” Again, in Rom.1:4 the Bible says that the resurrection of Jesus is a powerful declaration that Jesus is the Son of God. Without the resurrection, we have no basis for our faith. In John 11:25, Jesus says “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live”. If we believe in him we shall live after our death. This resurrection Sunday is called Easter. It is the dawn of a new era for the disciples and the rest of us. Let us like Mary run to the elders of our streets, neighbours and friends and tell them about the resurrection in words and deeds. Other lessons are:
BE HIS WITNESSES:– The woman from whom Jesus cast out seven demons was the first human being in history to see the resurrected Christ in person and recognize who He was. What an honor! Upon that honour she was given a mandate to go tell others. Anyone who has been honored by the Lord has also been mandated by the Lord. Our mandate is to witness, like Peter and John in the first reading we are called to witness. Christians, witness is our business. Wherever you are, permeate that place with the presence of God. Let witnessing be your life style by telling the truth, showing love, sharing the gospel, sharing your bread, and praying with a neigbour. In fact, the three keys of Lent remain. The end of lent is not the end of fasting, prayers and almsgiving. Easter gives the uncommon confidence in fasting, praying and almsgiving. So if will must witness very well we must align with these spiritual keys.
SEEK THE THINGS THAT ARE ABOVE: In the Second reading St. Paul says if you have been raised with Christ seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Many Christians today have set their mind on earth and the consequent result is greed. Before his death the disciples had a mindset thus they had to argue who is the greatest; but after the resurrection the mind set changed, they were concerned about how to gather in the upper room. They were concerned with winning souls and things of eternal relevance. Beloved in Christ, Easter comes to reset our mind, to reset is to reorder, so Easter comes to reorder our minds for heaven. We need to free our minds from vain things and crave ardently for things that has eternal value.
DESPAIR IS NEVER AN OPTION: – The resurrection demonstrates to us that no matter how bad things might look right now, God has the power to change our conditions. In spite of the darkness of Good Friday, the mourning of Holy Saturday, the tears of the women of Jerusalem, and the Sorrows of Our Lady; Easter has changed the disaster. In Easter God spoke and said no more sorrow and no more weeping, no more shame and no more pain. God says to us today, despair is never an option, no matter your situation Ps.3:3 says God is the lifter of my head. God who raised Jesus from the dead; will raise you up. For he says in Hosea 13:14 “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O death, where is your sting; O grave, where is your ruin?” Never give in to despair; it is only despair that says a situation is beyond repair. But up from the grave He arose. Darkness may last all through the night but joy comes in the morning.
THE GRAVE IS NOT OUR FINAL DESTINATION: Up from the grave he arose. In John 14:1-3, Jesus tells the disciples, do not let your heart be troubled, believe in God and believe also in me, he says I go to prepare a place for you that “I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” This is true for all Christians. The resurrection proves that Jesus has the power to live up to this claim. He will come and take us to himself and we will dwell with him. Beloved in Christ, one may die and be buried in the Church cemetery that does not mean you are already numbered among the saints, what numbers you among the saints is your believe in the resurrection that fosters in you a holy life. If you don’t believe in the resurrection you may not experience it. The resurrection of Jesus says to us today that the grave is not our final destination. I pray for you that by the reason of the risen Christ, after our earthly sojourn the grave will not be our final destination. Amen!
THE RESURRECTION IS A CHANGE OF POSITION: When they came to look for him at the gravy he was no longer there. Our position should equally change, our lifestyle should change by reason of the Resurrection. Luke 24:6 “He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee”.
