THE MOST SPECTACULAR DAY

EASTER IS THE MOST SPECTACULAR DAY SINCE CREATION!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 1:38

Right now you should be standing because that was the hallelujah. It was the longest hallelujah. It's a Mozart rendition and it was beautifully proclaimed before the gospel. The Lord be with you. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John. On that first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning while it was still dark and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved and told them they have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him. So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first. He bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths, and the cloth that covered his head not with the burial cloths, but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in. The one who had arrived first had the tomb. He saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_01 3:53

That's heavy.

SPEAKER_00 4:01

Sometimes those who decorate for liturgical events are more interested in artistic rendition than practicality. That gospel book has to weigh twenty pounds. It's beautiful. We only use it on several special occasions, and I'm glad Doug is strong enough to carry it in procession to the ambo because I couldn't even lift it, as you saw all the way, to respect it, to kiss it. The resurrection of Jesus. Some say it was the most outstanding event since we landed on the moon. But now that we're contemplating going to the moon again and riding around it, we have to reconsider that statement. But we can consider the statement from the perspective of the resurrection of Jesus as being a spectacular event. We can't imagine it. We can see the pictures, we can see the representations, but Jesus Christ embracing death on the cross and God the Father resurrecting him. You know, that resurrection, even though you and I weren't there, was for you and me. So we could have a relationship with the Son of God that beats time. If we lived in the time of Jesus, we would have been limited in our conversation and the amount of time we had with him, around three years. But God the Father has a different plan in mind. He allowed his son, whom he loved very much, to suffer the cross in order to open for us, we traditionally say the way to heaven, but to open to us his availability. He dies on the cross and he can't stay dead. He's God's son. God will not allow him to stay dead. However, looking through the scriptures from the beginning, we see that this event was foretold. This event was prepared for. But why? So he dies and rises from the dead great, one day and it's all over. That's not the case. In this case, the Son of God rises from the dead so that you and I today, until he returns in glory, can speak to him personally. He is the body, and we are the church, his body on earth. But God the Father made him so available to us through the resurrection that he activates us as members of the body. He activates us and puts us on the right track to heaven? Yeah, I guess to heaven, but to fulfillment. That anything we search after, if it's in line with God's will, Jesus presents to the Father our prayers. Today we have no public prayers for the intentions of this Mass, because this Mass is offered for the entire parish and indeed the entire world. Every name you can ever imagine, every person who's ever come into your face, every piece of history that is on your family tree, people that you never heard of, we can pray for today. Because we're united with them because of the resurrection. There's no barriers between us and Jesus, and there's no barriers between us and those who have died before us. As long as we speak to Jesus and present our prayers to him. The prayers that we have today in our hearts as we sit down with our families or sit down alone to enjoy our Easter meal is taken by Jesus to the Father. And he hears us. That Jesus actually hears us and hears the intentions of our hearts. Right now, whatever you're thinking, whatever intention you're praying for, whether it's help, whether it's recovery, whether it's death, Jesus is with you. And I say you individually and as a community of faith, he's with us. How? Because the barrier between life and death was destroyed. This is the day it happened. The resurrection of Jesus, Easter. The barrier between fear and hope was destroyed. Because he fulfilled our hope. He made himself available. I mean, this is not something you can read about. This is not something you'll hear on the news necessarily. But today is the resurrection of Jesus. Today, Jesus reminds us he is with us. Today, Jesus reminds us that he hears every intention, every hope, every prayer. Today is the day that Jesus reminds us he walks with us. Every day. Tomorrow the decorations will be moved, or different holidays will be set up and so on. Maybe the fancy hats that are on Fifth Avenue right now be put away. But the resurrected Jesus is not put away. Even in 50 days, we might remove all the decorations and indeed the statue of the resurrection in our sanctuary, but Jesus will not be put away. This is the day that reminds us he's always with us. It should blow our minds. It's an accomplishment, of course, bigger than landing on the moon. It's an accomplishment, probably on the level of creation itself. And I'm always amazed at how scientists discover new galaxies and new solar bodies, and then make a big fuss over it, very good. And they try to evaluate how old creation is, very good. But Jesus is more important than all of that, and more significant than all of that. And his resurrection is a punch to creation, a surprising way of waking us up as we celebrate that day that he rose from the dead, and we continue celebrating it. It doesn't stop. When the lilies fade and the decorations are put away, it doesn't stop. Because it's not a one-day event. It's as important as creation. It is the new creation that God said to you and said to me, I want access to you. I want to hear you. I want to read your hearts. And I want you to read the heart of my son Jesus. This is the day that's guaranteed. When you leave here as an individual or as a family member or with friends, you're not leaving alone. Jesus is with us. In our society, it's hard to believe that. Well, death was hard to believe, but they buried him anyway. But he showed what he's all about. Not about death, but about life and about hope. He's reading our minds right now. He reads our hearts right now. This is the day the Father gave us Jesus and guarantees that Jesus is always with us, listening to us, and reaching out to us and available to us. It seems insipid to say happy Easter. You want to recast that beautiful section of Mozart. You want to bring out the trumpets, you want to have fireworks. This is the day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord.