The Lord is Risen!

Easter Sunday

The Resurrection of the Lord

4 April 2021 

 

First Reading:  ACTS 10:34a, 37-43

Responsorial Psalm:  PS 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23

Second Reading:  COL 3:1-4, 22-23

Gospel:  JN 20:1-9

 

Reflection

By: Fely C. Santiago

 

"For they did not yet understand the Scripture that He had to rise from the dead."

Today is a very joyous day because it is Resurrection Sunday! This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad! The Lenten days of fasting, almsgiving, and repenting are over. Christ's resurrection vividly demonstrates that love is always stronger than fear or hate or even death. Certainly, something to celebrate. And given what we have all been through this past year, we all really need reasons to celebrate, to find joy and reason for our hope. We just came out of the dark days of Good Friday and experience the fullness of Christ's light on Easter!

Maybe some of us would fret at these words, what is there to rejoice when we are in the midst of a pandemic? Many people are dying, our health workers and front liners are tired, the CoVid-19 cases are rising even with vaccination going on already. Where are You, Lord? People are anxious, worried, frustrated. At these moments, it may seem less clear how the Easter story is our story.

Let us take comfort in knowing that this is exactly the situation of Jesus' friends and followers not only during His Passion, but even in the earliest days of the Resurrection. It took time for them to recognize the reality of the Resurrection. The truth of the Easter Sunday is that God's love is victorious. That is the essence of our faith. Good still wins out over evil. Life wins out over death.

Remember that it is not our action that makes Easter happen. Rather, it is about taking the time to be attentive to God's creative action. God's unstoppable love resurrected Jesus from the dead. And it is God's love and not our own action that will lead to our own resurrections—both our bodily resurrections (someday) and the ways we experience new life now, in the midst of fear, suffering, grief, and even death.

Our part is simply to acknowledge our feelings, pay attention, wonder, and pray.

• If I am feeling emptiness or grief, I can bring my sense of emptiness to God and, like Mary Magdalene, wait for God, paying attention to where I might find new life beyond the tomb.
• If I am feeling fear and am shut inside my own room, I can bring those fears to God and know that God will enter right into that space with me. God can surprise me beyond the confines of my own understanding.
• If I am feeling doubt, I can express these doubts to God and, like Thomas, wonder how God invites me to touch the reality of the Resurrection.
• If I am feeling a desire for increased connection with God, I can let God walk with me, talk with me, and even "feed" me with the divine presence. I can let myself love God and let God love me in turn.

The Lord is risen. There is reason for hope. There is light at the end of the tunnel. There is a silver lining amidst the dark clouds.

 

Prayer

 

Lord Jesus, I know You are here with us right now, walking with us, consoling us, embracing us, loving us. We just need to be aware and conscious of Your presence. Let me not be afraid . Let me receive Your peace. Thank You Jesus and all these we pray in Your Name. Amen.