April 12^th 2020. Easter Sunday

GOSPEL: Matthew 28, 1-10

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

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Don Fabio’s homily follows the Gospel

GOSPEL: Matthew  28:1-10 
After the Sabbath, and towards dawn on the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala and the other Mary went to visit the sepulchre. And all at once there was a violent earthquake, for the angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled away the stone and sat on it. His face was like lightning, his robe white as snow. The guards were so shaken, so frightened of him, that they were like dead men. But the angel spoke; and he said to the women, ‘There is no need for you to be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said he would. Come and see the place where he lay, then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has risen from the dead and now he is going before you to Galilee; it is there you will see him.” Now I have told you.’ Filled with awe and great joy the women came quickly away from the tomb and ran to tell the disciples.

And there, coming to meet them, was Jesus. ‘Greetings’ he said. And the women came up to him and, falling down before him, clasped his feet. Then Jesus said to them,
‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee; they will see me there.’

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

Kieran’s summary . . . In the Gospel on the Vigil of Easter, the angel says: “I know you are looking for Jesus the crucified one. He is ​​not here. He is risen”. The Greek verbs for both “crucified” and “risen” are passive in form. The resurrection of Jesus is the work of God! The destruction that humanity caused is changed into life by God alone. The areas where men operate evil, God can transform into a place of life. This is the proclamation that we must make this Easter while we are closed inside our houses! We are experiencing something painful that seems a sort of death. This is the very area in which God can operate! Our time in lockdown is not simply a matter of waiting for this state of enclosure to end. Rather, we can accept it and welcome it. Remember, the original meaning of the Sabbath day was a time devoted to uselessness and inactivity in which God was permitted to operate. And this has always been the announcement of Easter – God operates at the very time that we are unable.  During our lives we experience many dark moments, many deaths, but God has the capacity to transform them into Easters. What appears to us to be the end becomes in the hands of God the beginning of the kingdom of heaven. God can operate in this ultimate closure of being imprisoned in our homes. He can transform it into one of his works. Let's open ourselves to the power of Easter! Let us make this leap of faith!  Let's arm ourselves with the weapon of abandonment into the arms of God. Maybe then our eyes will be opened and we will realize the graces that the Lord is sending our way. Everything can become an occasion of thanksgiving in the hands of God. Let us listen to the angel who comes, sits on the tombstone, and speaks to us. The stone that was the place of despair becomes the place of proclamation. And what is proclaimed to us is this: where humanity crucifies, where humanity destroys, this is the very place that God brings life. Happy Easter!

The Easter ceremonies, over three days, are really a single act.

It is a movement from death to life. There can be no Easter 

resurrection without the dying of Good Friday

At this Easter Triduum we find ourselves in such a serious situation 

that we really need the Liturgy to help us. The Easter liturgy is in 

three days from Holy Thursday through Good Friday to the Easter 

vigil. But it is actually a single act. On Good Friday there is a 

greeting from the priest, who enters making an act of prostration, 

and then simply speaks to the Father and begins the liturgy, ending

 without blessing without greeting. There is a solemn silence on 

Good Friday with which the celebration of the Lord's Passion ends,

 because, in reality, we are just awaiting the moment of the liturgy 

of the light that inaugurates the vigil of that holiest of nights. Here

 there is only one reality.  There is no Easter without dying and there

 is no Good Friday without the Easter of Resurrection. The Paschal

 movement is one from death to life, while in human affairs we ​​start

 alive and end up dead! The solemn Easter liturgy is the most

 important of the year, articulated in four wonderful parts. It is 

deeply baptismal and is all oriented to celebrate our union with

 Christ as the culmination of this process. Then, on Easter Sunday,

 the Gospel that the Church reads is John's 20th chapter. That is 

always the same every year, while the vigil Mass follows a 

three-year cycle (this year the Gospel is Matthew chapter 28).

The space in which God operates is the one in which we discover that we are incapable of doing anything ourselves

The space in which God can finally operate in our lives is very often when we have arrived at our limits! Easter is experienced when we experience the complete insufficiency of ourselves, where we no longer know what to do.  We should not fear our insufficiencies but rather open them up to the power of God. Then we can discover the new creation that the Lord wishes to operate in us on this “first day of the week”. The Gospel read at the vigil tells of the angel who comes with an earthquake, rolls away the stone of the tomb and sits on it. An earthquake represents the complete collapse of worldly certainties. It is a moment when we feel our fragility and impotence, a moment when we need divine assistance. It is interesting to note that the stone that covered the tomb now changes its function! First of all, it represented closure and finality. Now it becomes the place from which the triumph of love is proclaimed. It has become the lectern that proclaims the Gospel. The angel’s face was like lightning and his robe was as white as snow. This emphasis on light and newness tells us that everything has been transformed into light, everything has changed. The guards, however, were shaken and stood transfixed like dead men. It is a slightly comic scene. These soldiers were supposed to be guarding a dead man, but now the dead one is no longer dead and the live ones seem no longer alive! Many times there are people who go to visit the sick and they are much more lifeless than the sick people they are visiting. The sick person, often, has found peace, while those who consider themselves healthy and alive are in reality dead (according to the book of Revelation).

It is God alone who can operate the resurrection.

The angel begins by telling the women not to be afraid. You cannot hear what God has to say to you if you are dominated by fear. The guards were fearful and they would have understood nothing of what the angel had to say. The angel goes on: “I know you are looking for Jesus the crucified one. He is ​​not here. He is risen”. It is interesting that the Greek verbs for both “crucified” and “risen” are passive in form. Certainly, one does not crucify oneself, but “risen” is also passive. The resurrection of Jesus is the work of the Father. The destruction that humanity caused is changed into life by God alone. In the areas where men operate evil, God knows how to transform into a place of life. This is the proclamation that we must make this Easter while we are closed inside our houses! We are experiencing something painful that is a sort of death and humiliation. This is the very area in which God can operate! Our time in lockdown is not simply a matter of waiting for this enclosure to end. Rather we can accept it and welcome it. Remember, the original meaning of the Sabbath day was a time devoted to uselessness and inactivity in which we permitted God to operate. And this has always been the announcement of Easter – God operates at the very time that we are unable.

What seems a place of death and destruction becomes a place of life, but only if God is allowed to operate

This announcement echoes something that was said by the patriarch Joseph when he is found by his family. We recall that this beloved son of Jacob was sold off into slavery by his brothers. The Lord raised him from slavery and led him to be prime minister in Egypt. The brothers come to Egypt during a famine, begging for food.  When they recognize him, they are terrified but he says, “Do not be afraid because the evil you have done, God has wanted to use it for good”. During our lives we experience many deaths, but God has the capacity to transform them into Easters. What appears to us to be death and destruction becomes in the hands of God the beginning of the kingdom of heaven. God can operate in this ultimate closure of being imprisoned in our homes. He can transform it into one of his works. Let's open ourselves to the power of Easter! Let us make this leap of faith!  Let's arm ourselves with the weapon of abandonment into the arms of God. Maybe then our eyes will be opened and we will realize the graces that the Lord is sending our way. Everything can become an occasion of thanksgiving in the hands of God. Let us listen to the angel who comes and speaks to us from the stone. The stone that was the place of despair becomes the place of proclamation. And what is proclaimed to us is this: where humanity crucifies, where humanity destroys, it is in this very place that God brings life. Happy Easter everyone!