April 16^th 2017. EASTER SUNDAY

GOSPEL Matthew 28:1-10

                                                                                                                                                                                              

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

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GOSPEL Matthew 28:1-10

After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
And behold, there was a great earthquake; 
for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, 
approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it.
His appearance was like lightning
and his clothing was white as snow.
The guards were shaken with fear of him
and became like dead men.
Then the angel said to the women in reply,
"Do not be afraid!
I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified.
He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.
Come and see the place where he lay.
Then go quickly and tell his disciples,
'He has been raised from the dead, 
and he is going before you to Galilee;
there you will see him.'
Behold, I have told you."
Then they went away quickly from the tomb, 
fearful yet overjoyed,
and ran to announce this to his disciples.
And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.
They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.
Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid.
Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee,
and there they will see me."

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . The eight readings before the Gospel at the Easter Vigil summarize the promises of the Old Testament. The first reading from Genesis speaks of the original creation of light and life. Our redemption in Christ involves a new light and the beginning of a fuller, more authentic, life. The story of the sacrifice of Isaac reveals a God who does not demand but gives. The Son of God is sent to be our offering. He takes our side and transforms our hardness of heart into a perfect response to the Father. The third reading recalls the crossing of the Red Sea. This symbolizes all of the barriers of death, chaos and emptiness that Christ crosses on our behalf, giving us sure hope in the most desperate of situations. The fifth reading tells us that God’s ways are not our ways; his thoughts are not our thoughts. He redeems us in a way that no one had ever expected. The final Old Testament reading proclaims that God will give us new hearts and put a new Spirit within us. When God gave his Spirit the first time, we became living beings, but now we are given the power to become children of God. This is pure gift from God and transforms us, enabling us to live a full and authentic life.

            In the Gospel, the women go to the tomb to mourn over Jesus. An angel appears to them and announces that he is alive. The women believe the announcement and go to tell the disciples. On the way, they meet Jesus. This reveals that, if we are faithful to our mission, we will be led into an experience of Christ. We encounter that which we proclaim. The central point of the life of the believer is no longer a focus on personal righteousness, but on mission. We deepen our relationship with Jesus by proclaiming him.

The readings at the Easter Vigil summarize the promises of the Old Testament. The first reading from Genesis speaks of the original light and the creation of life. Our redemption in Christ involves a new light and the beginning of a fuller, more authentic, life.

We are getting ready for the joy of Easter. We are preparing ourselves to celebrate the central events in our liturgical life and the most crucial elements of our faith. Usually we use the first reading as the key to interpret the Gospel. But the Easter vigil has eight readings before the Gospel, seven from the Old Testament and one from the letters of St Paul! It is hard to know where to start because the resurrection of Christ is the fulfilment of all the promises in the Old Testament. The various readings give a flavour of all of these promises. The first reading gives the creation account from the book of Genesis. We are told of a light that begins everything and then we are led through a marvellous canticle to life from the six days of creation to the seventh day of contemplation. At Easter we contemplate the new creation, the new light that illuminates Christian life, the life that comes from our redemption. This true light that is coming into the world is life, as St John says in the beginning of his Gospel. It is important to recognize that our faith involves a new birth, a different light, a new beginning. The world was created by God but is now redeemed by Christ. All of us have been created by God and are now called to be redeemed by his passion, death and resurrection. In other words, it is essential that we reflect on the fact that none of us has arrived at his true and full authentic self until we are recreated. The resurrection is the true beginning of life, the start of an authentic complete life that never ends but continues in heaven.

The story of the sacrifice of Isaac reveals a God who does not demand but gives. The blessed Son of God is sent to be our offering. He takes our side and transforms our hardness of heart into a perfect response to the Father.

We also have in our readings the account of the sacrifice of Isaac. This tells us of a God who appears to demand something but in reality wants to give. Abraham must embrace a renunciation of his own will before the will of God regarding the thing that is most dear to him – his beloved son. But he discovers that this son will not be taken from him but “multiplied” in the sense that he now receives the promise that he will become the father of a great multitude. And we contemplate this in the light of its fulfilment at Easter. In reality God has not demanded a son but has given his own son. The sacrifice that makes us free is accomplished by the blessed Son of God. We have asked God for his Son and he has died for us. The last word is not our obstinacy, our hardness of heart, our sin, but the response of Jesus who transforms the impoverished response of humanity to God. We contemplate the risen Christ and see that our story ends well.

The third reading recalls the crossing of the Red Sea. This symbolizes all of the barriers of death, chaos and emptiness that Christ crosses on our behalf, giving us sure hope in the most desperate of situations.

The third reading tells of the passage through the Red Sea. The whole idea of passage is fundamental at Easter: Christ crosses the chasm of death; he overcomes everything that is ungovernable. This is the message of Christianity - God has given us the power to go beyond these limits. With the Lord there are no longer dead ends. It is no longer the case that everything leads nowhere. Every sadness and oppression can be overcome. God has the power to do it. What a wonderful announcement this is!

At Easter, Jesus is like the bridegroom who finds his lost spouse, bringing her back to authentic relationship with him

Then we begin the readings from the prophets. The first reading from Isaiah speaks of a person who finds his spouse. This recalls the Gospel in which Jesus appears to the women and fills them with joy, revealing to them that in him life is authentic and does not end. At Easter, God’s attitude towards us is that of the spouse. His desire to be with us is very great, so great that he is willing to die for us. His love is stronger than death, a love that will never abandon us.

God’s ways are not our ways; his thoughts are not our thoughts. He redeems us in a way that no one had ever expected

The fifth reading tells how God’s ways are not our ways, how his thoughts are not our thoughts. And in fact in the Gospel we discover that God is a God of surprises – he saves us in ways that we would never think of. The women arrive at the tomb and make a discovery that does not fit with our ways, our expectations. God knows how to say and do things that we would never imagine. The guards at the tomb are shocked by the events and look like they are dead men. The dead one has come to life and the living ones have become as if they were dead! God does not operate according to human categories. The things that God does are not the things that fit in with our schemes.

If we are obedient to our mission, then we will encounter Christ in new ways

The beautiful reading of Baruch speaks of the wisdom of God hidden in his commandments. We must welcome these commandments, which pave the way for the gift of someone who has a new commandment to give us. The new commandment is not focussed on personal righteousness, but on mission (here we are not referring to the wonderful commandment given in the Gospel of John - “Love one another as I have loved you”). When the women go to the tomb, they believe the words said to them by the angel. Then, as they are going to tell the news to the disciples, they encounter the very object of their news. Jesus tells them: “Go and tell my brothers to meet me in Galilee”. This is the beginning of an unusual means for discovering the truth of the resurrection of Jesus: to be faithful to the mission that has been given to them. The central issue is no longer that of trying to avoid sin, but of being proclaimers of the good news. While they were on their way to announce what they believed, they encountered Christ along the way. The news that they are intent on proclaiming enters into their personal experience.

The final reading proclaims that God will give us new hearts and put a new Spirit within us. When God gave his Spirit the first time, we became living beings, but now we are given the power to become children of God. This is pure gift from God and transforms us, enabling us to live a full and authentic life

The final reading from the Old Testament in the Easter vigil announces that we are to be given new hearts. God will put a new spirit within us. When God gave his Spirit the first time, the human being became a living thing, but now he becomes a child of God. He is to be inserted into the life of God, receiving the gift of the Spirit who cries, “Abba! Father!” This is the cry of one who says to God, “You are my father”. Our life changes radically when we receive the gift of the Spirit, the certificate of embarking upon a new life. This is pure gift from God. It cannot be won by human effort. These women go to the tomb to weep over a dead man. They return signing of life. This is what the Lord can do with us. The gift of his Spirit is the gift of a transformed and fuller life.