SPEAKER_00: We arrive on this Easter Monday, and there are two reactions to the resurrection in today's gospel.
SPEAKER_00: They couldn't be any more different.
SPEAKER_00: On one side, you have the women, they leave the tomb, scripture tells us, fearful yet overjoyed.
SPEAKER_00: That's such a real line.
SPEAKER_00: They don't have everything figured out.
SPEAKER_00: They're not theologians.
SPEAKER_00: They're not standing there with a clean explanation of what just happened.
SPEAKER_00: They're overwhelmed.
SPEAKER_00: And yet, what do they do?
SPEAKER_00: They move, they run.
SPEAKER_00: Because when something is real, you don't need to understand everything in order to respond.
SPEAKER_00: You just go.
SPEAKER_00: And then on the other side, you have the guards and the chief priest.
SPEAKER_00: They also know something happened.
SPEAKER_00: They saw the empty tomb.
SPEAKER_00: They experienced the earthquake.
SPEAKER_00: They know that this is not normal.
SPEAKER_00: But instead of surrendering to the truth, they manage it.
SPEAKER_00: They control it.
SPEAKER_00: They pay for a different story.
SPEAKER_00: They convince themselves of another narrative.
SPEAKER_00: And here's the key.
SPEAKER_00: They don't deny the event, they explain it away.
SPEAKER_00: And that's right there.
SPEAKER_00: That's the decision every one of us faces.
SPEAKER_00: Not whether something happened, but what are we going to do about it?
SPEAKER_00: Because the resurrection is not just an event in the past, it's a reality pressing on your life right here, right now.
SPEAKER_00: And you have two options.
SPEAKER_00: You can either run with it or you can explain it away so that it fits your narrative.
SPEAKER_00: Now, if we go to the first reading, the Acts of the Apostles, and we'll be reading through this whole Easter season from the Acts of the Apostles, Peter stands up.
SPEAKER_00: This is the same Peter who denied Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: The same Peter who couldn't even admit he knew him, and now he's preaching publicly, boldly, clearly, courageously.
SPEAKER_00: What changed?
SPEAKER_00: Well, he encountered the risen Christ.
SPEAKER_00: That's it.
SPEAKER_00: No new personality, no special training, just one encounter, and everything changed.
SPEAKER_00: And Peter says something that we cannot miss.
SPEAKER_00: God raised him up.
SPEAKER_00: It was impossible for death to hold him.
SPEAKER_00: Impossible.
SPEAKER_00: Not unlikely, not difficult, impossible.
SPEAKER_00: Because life itself cannot be defeated.
SPEAKER_00: Truth itself cannot be buried.
SPEAKER_00: Love itself cannot be killed.
SPEAKER_00: That's where this becomes very practical for all of us.
SPEAKER_00: Because some of us are still living like death has the final word.
SPEAKER_00: We carry things like they're permanent, forever.
SPEAKER_00: That sin that you keep going back to, or even the sin that you've already confessed, but you keep dredging up.
SPEAKER_00: That wound that still defines you, that situation you've already decided will never change.
SPEAKER_00: And then Easter comes and says something different.
SPEAKER_00: That's not truth anymore.
SPEAKER_00: That's not who you are anymore.
SPEAKER_00: But here's where I want to push you a little.
SPEAKER_00: You cannot still choose to live like it's true.
SPEAKER_00: You can't stand in front of the empty tomb and still walk away unchanged.
SPEAKER_00: That's the danger.
SPEAKER_00: Not disbelief, not indifference, trying to explain it away.
SPEAKER_00: Saying, well, that's nice, but it doesn't really affect my life.
SPEAKER_00: It's maybe it affects me for a moment here while I'm listening to this homily, but once I get into the real world, that's a different situation.
SPEAKER_00: Well, the women didn't do that.
SPEAKER_00: They ran.
SPEAKER_00: And on the way, Jesus meets them.
SPEAKER_00: Don't miss that.
SPEAKER_00: He meets them while they're in motion.
SPEAKER_00: Not when they had everything figured out, not when they had perfect clarity.
SPEAKER_00: He meets them because they were moving towards him.
SPEAKER_00: That's your takeaway today.
SPEAKER_00: Very simple.
SPEAKER_00: Move.
SPEAKER_00: Take that first step.
SPEAKER_00: One honest prayer, one return to confession, one act of forgiveness you've been avoiding, one decision to come back again this week.
SPEAKER_00: Don't overcomplicate things.
SPEAKER_00: Resurrection life begins when you stop standing still.
SPEAKER_00: And then Jesus says something important.
SPEAKER_00: Do not be afraid.
SPEAKER_00: Because fear is what keeps people in the tomb.
SPEAKER_00: Fear of change, fear of letting go, fear of trusting God again.
SPEAKER_00: And then Jesus says, you don't have to stay there.
SPEAKER_00: So on this Easter Monday, don't just don't just be in this fear of unchange.
SPEAKER_00: Choose to move even imperfectly, even slowly.
SPEAKER_00: You'll discover what they discovered.
SPEAKER_00: The risen Christ doesn't wait at the end.
SPEAKER_00: He meets you on the way.
SPEAKER_00: That's Easter.
SPEAKER_00: Something has happened right here, right now, and it's happening to you.
SPEAKER_00: Make the decision to let it stick.
SPEAKER_00: Happy Easter.