Easter Sunday - The Resurrection of the Lord
Rejoice! Alleluia! Christ is risen! Today we celebrate Easter, that most joyous of liturgical celebrations, so joyous that, as with Christmas, one day is insufficient to contain the joy, and so we extend the celebration over an entire eight days, known as an octave. The fifty days of Easter are especially joyous, but the first eight even more so, and those eight begin with today, Easter Sunday.
Our Gospel reading tells us of the resurrection. It is important to keep in mind that the actual mysterious event of the resurrection itself is not depicted in the Bible. Mere words are insufficient to express the wonderful mystery of the resurrection. Instead, we celebrate the resurrection with the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The Last Supper, the passion and death of Jesus, His resurrection and glorious ascension into heaven, are all intimately connected, just as we connect them in the Church’s liturgy. The body we receive in the Eucharist is Christ’s body that has been crucified, has risen, and has ascended in glory. Thus, it is an unbloody sacrifice presenting Christ’s original sacrifice, and all of its graces, to us for our entire earthly pilgrimage.
Our first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles depicts Peter’s preaching. Peter preaches the gospel message, that God has come among us in Jesus, that Jesus’ ministry brought God among the people, that He was killed, and that He rose again from the dead. He commissioned the apostles to spread the good news, so that all might “receive forgiveness of sins” (Acts 10:43). This too is our Easter message for the world. It is not only the original apostles who bore witness to the events of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. We too must bear witness. We too know this Jesus Who lives. Jesus Christ is alive, yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
During this Easter season, let us strive to get more acquainted with this Jesus, Who lives, Whom we love, and Who loves us so much. We must continually become acquainted with Jesus, so that we too can bear witness to Him to others, in loving service. Our Easter joy should overflow in our lives so that others might see by our own lives how wonderful and joyous it is to follow Jesus, the Christ, the risen one.
- Jeff Morrow