Sunday Reflections - EASTER SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD

Acts 10: 34a, 37-43; Colossians 3: 1-4; John 20: 1-9

(Rev. Dr. Francis Perry Azah)

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!! Alleluia!!! What joy we have today as we celebrate Jesus’ Resurrection. Today is Easter Sunday, and on this feast day, we joyfully celebrate the glorious Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the greatest, and the most solemn feast in the Church, for the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest of all miracles – it proves that Jesus Christ is truly God and truly Man. It is the feast of joy and triumph. It is the feast of Jesus' victory over sin and death. It is the feast of Jesus freeing us from the bondage of sin and death. It is the feast of Jesus transforming us and making us a new creation – He gives us a new heart and a new life in the Holy Spirit.

Easter is a great mystery. How do we look at the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus? The Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is the basis of our Christian faith; that is, all the basic doctrines of Christianity are founded on the truth of it. The people who became disciples of Jesus sincerely believed he was the promised Messiah, the One who would restore Israel and bring salvation to the world. Jesus had taught his disciples at length that he would have to suffer, die, and then rise from the dead to accomplish the saving mission his Father had sent him to fulfill. Nevertheless, the disciples had a hard time accepting and understanding these realities and concepts. They did not want to see their beloved teacher suffer and die.

The New Testament makes it very clear that when Jesus rose, he was not just a ghost but also had a body, though it was transformed. In the first reading today, we heard Peter say in his sermon that they “ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead” (Acts 10:41). Jesus had a physical body after he rose. On several occasions, we read of Jesus eating after he rose. Jesus asked for food, and they gave him baked fish, which he ate (Luke 24:41-43). Jesus showed them his wounds (Luke 24:39; John 20:24-28), and he breathed on them (John 20:22). They could touch Jesus (Luke 24:39; John 20:17).

Yet even though Jesus rose in his body, he was unrecognizable because he had a glorified body (Luke 24:16; John 20:14; 21:4), and he could pass through walls and doors (John 20:19, 26). We read in all the Gospels about the tomb being empty, but that was never an issue in proving that Jesus rose from the dead. When Mary Magdalene saw the empty tomb she thought it meant that the body of Jesus was stolen; we heard her say in today’s Gospel, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” (John 20:2) Instead what mattered for them was that they knew Jesus was truly present with them; they saw Jesus many times, ate and drank with him, saw his wounds and listened to him teaching.

The Resurrection of the Lord Jesus shed a totally different light on the Passion and Death of Jesus. It led the disciples to a very different understanding of what at first seemed tragedy, disaster, and failure. The experience of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus strengthened the disciples' faith in the Risen Jesus and completely transformed their lives. Because of the Resurrection, the disciples, who were at first paralyzed with fear of being arrested as accomplices of Jesus, suddenly made a complete turnaround and began boldly to proclaim that Jesus, who died on the Cross, was alive and with them. There is no doubt that their experience of the Spirit of the Risen Lord gave them that unshakable courage that they were ready even to die for this truth that they proclaimed. And when, in fact, they were arrested, persecuted, and imprisoned, it became a cause of rejoicing that they were now even more closely related to the life experience of their Lord, sharing in his sufferings that they might share in his glory.

What a joy it is for us to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. The true light that enlightens the world is not the sun but Jesus. His resurrection has scattered the darkness and brought us the true light. Many times in the Gospel of John, Jesus reminds us that he is the light of the world (John 1:9; 3:19; 8:12; 9:5; 12:46). In the second reading from the letter to the Colossians we were reminded of our baptism, you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Col 3:1-3) Because of our baptism, we have a glorious future ahead of us; we can share in the resurrection of Jesus.

Therefore, we are to “seek what is above” and not get lost in the things of this world; we are to “think of what is above, not on what is on earth” Because when you were baptized, you began a new life in Christ, “for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” When Mary Magdalene could not find Jesus, she said to Simon Peter and the Beloved Disciple, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him.” (John 20:2) Like Mary Magdalene, search for the risen Jesus today, and he will allow you to find him. Surely there is nothing better that the Lord would want than for you to find him. Search for the risen Jesus this Easter and meet the risen Jesus. Don’t waste your life on frivolous things. Live a new life with Jesus. Live the life of Jesus now. I wish you and your loved ones a blessed and glorious Easter celebration.