Today we celebrate the love Jesus has for you and me. A love that’s stronger than death. A love that enabled Jesus not just to accept, but to embrace the cross to save us.
Last weekend as we read the Passion, I was struck by this line, “The people stood by and watched; the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him and said, ‘He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God.’” (Luke 23:35)
Yes, Jesus could have saved Himself, but His love for us held Him on that Cross, His sacrifice was out of love for us.
Today we remember that Jesus died, freely gave up His life, to free us from sin and death, to give us life. And today on Easter we remember that He rose from the dead. This is true today and always: Jesus is not dead; He is alive.
This changes everything! Jesus is alive and is truly God. He has conquered sin and death. And since Jesus is alive, we are able to know Him, speak to Him, and hear from Him. He is intimately present to us in this moment, in every moment of our lives.
The other night I was out to eat and a 13 year-old girl at a nearby table asked her parents, “What is it like for Father Andy that wherever he goes people are always watching everything he does?” I responded, “That’s very insightful.”
Because I am a public person, most always wearing my collar, she knew I couldn’t really get away with doing anything “wrong,” I’m sure that's what she meant. But in my head I was like, “I can’t get away with anything anyway, Jesus is always with me. God always knows what I’m doing, whether I am out with friends or alone in my house, He’s always there.” I’m never alone. And that’s a good thing!
So often in life it’s possible to feel alone, isolated, or abandoned. Today we celebrate the truth that Jesus is who He says He is.
This is Good News!
It’s the message Peter preached in our first reading.
It is reflected in our psalm: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.”
This Good News is what Paul wrote to the Colossians: (through baptism) “you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Our hope is quite literally in Christ in heaven, who will one day return and raise us to be with him in glory.
This Good News is what the three disciples witnessed, but did not yet fully understand, when they found the empty tomb.
This Good News is why we are here. It is why we celebrate this wonderful, miraculous paschal mystery with the firm conviction that one day, too, we who have been baptized into the life and death of Christ will be raised to eternal life with him.
The Resurrection changes everything. Jesus rose from the dead and now lives forever as Savior, Lord, and King. God loves us and will always be with us. Jesus is not dead. He is alive!