EASTER - Yr B, March 30 (Vigil) & 31 (1st Sunday), 2024
Readings - Vigil
1st: Genesis 1:2-2:2
2nd: Genesis 22:1-18
3rd: Exodus 14:15-15:1
4th: Is 54:5-14
5th: Isaiah 55:2-11 Is
6th: Baruch 3:9-15, 32-4:4
7th: Ezekiel 36:16-17, 18-28
8th: Romans 6:3-11
Gospel: Mark 16:1-7
First Sunday
1st: Acts 10:34a, 37-43
2nd: Colosians 3:1-4
Gospel: John 20:1-9
Theme: The Empty Tomb/Resurrection (Easter) for you and I
My dear people of God, the family that endures together should also rejoice together. "If we die with Christ we shall rise with Him" and, therefore, rejoice with Him. We began our 40-day Lenten pilgrimage with the humble signing of Blessed ashes on Ask Wednesday and plunged earnestly into a solemn and sober reflection and self mortification through Prayer, Penace and Works of Mercy (charity) for forty days. Traditionally, Lent ends with the Lord's Last Supper and urshers us into the Tridium - the (3 days) events of the Pascal Mysteries - the Arrest, Trial and Crucifixion of Jesus with a Salvivic culmination - The Empty Tomb storry, Easter. Therefore, we begin the solemn season of Easter with the Vigil Mass tonight. Easter brings to perfection the saving works of Salvation God has begun in each one of us as individuals and as a Faith Community. The carefully selected readings of the Vigil Mass vividly recall how God continuously saves his people throughout history and, in the fulness of time, sends his only Begotten Son to save and redeem the world by His Holy Cross, the Tree of Life. It is safe, therefore, to assert that the Cross and the Resurrection are inseparably linked. Take away the Cross (Calvary) and there would be no Resurrection and, therefore, no Christianity. What this means is that, any road that does not necessarily pass through Calvary to the Empty Tomb is fake, totally misleading and very dangerous. Many a follower of Christ at our time want a Crown without a Cross, a genuine success void of great sweat. There can never be a short cut or wide gate to the Empty Tomb. An anonymous author once joked, " No one goes to heaven with dry eyes". Our reflections would focus on the Theme - A limited attempt to answering the question, "What is the meaning of the Empty Tomb/Resurrection, from personal experience? We shall do this under sub themes.
The Empty Tomb simply means evil cannot reign forever, neither can it have the final say in any human affair. Easter is an assurance that love has outlived hatred, life is stronger than death and that darkness and Light cannot co-exist for any reason. This is what we usually see and experience when we follow the Pascal Candle from the bonfire into the "dark, seemingly deserted and symbolically desolate Church". The arrival and entrance of the priest carrying the Pascal Candle - Christ the Light - into the Church puts darkness to flight, to the glory of God. Temporarily, evil/darkness may appear to thrive because, by its very nature, evil appears very attractive and can win supporters with relative ease. The Good Friday unprecedented events confirm this fact - for the first time in human history the whole world was against one man just because He stood for nothing but the truth/light. In the process of planning and/or supporting evil, reasoning powers are usually badly incapacitated and the natural ability to think and see straight fall miserably below zero percent. This is verifiable from the blind and uncritical support the so-called religious and political leaders got from the ordinary masses on that concerted plan and call to crucify Jesus. Eventually the Empty Tomb points to how the baseless hatred and calculated lies all came to nothing. Throughout that orchestrated process, no one could reason beyond the fabricated public opinion, no one could think critically and no one could see with and/or through neutral lenses. This, unfortunately, is still the world we live in, after almost 2024 years of Christianity. People easily believe in everything, prepared to follow anybody and ready to do anything. The Empty Tomb also implies that Truth cannot be buried, forever. Bury truth and it would resurrect third (one) day. What is refreshing is the fact that even the calculated and presumed weight of the stone could not prevent the Resurrection.
Given the above undeniable fact, the thought of the Empty Tomb should be an uninterrupted source of hope and joy. "If God is with us, who can be against us", "For He so loves the world that He gives His only Begotten Son that whoever believes in Him may not perish, but may have eternal life". "And while we were still sinners, Jesus died to save us". Therefore, a sad Christian is a living contradiction to the Empty Tomb message - Gospel, Good News. Yes, we are sinners, but now freed. A freed slave has no reason to remain sad and gloomy. Shockingly, some Christians leave Church looking so sad, dismal and facially worried as if they are carrying the burdens of the whole world; as if it pains them more to smile than to frown. Cheer up, my sister/brother, you are a winner in the Risen Christ. Your problem or burden cannot be bigger than the STONE. This ONE too shall pass. The Resurrection cannot mean nothing to you. May Divine Mercy locate you and every member of your family wherever you are during and beyond this great season of grace. May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you; because, by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world. Please, continue to make time to recite the Holy Rosary daily. God richly bless you and your family.
Rev. Fr. Thomas L. Debuo - Catholic Diocese of Damongo, Ghana. ( 0244511306 / 0243711926)