Because he lives…

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Holy Names Church

Easter Vigil Homily

April 23, 2011

Moments before Jesus died on the cross, he made a brief comment that is interpreted as an address to his Father, to his audience and to generations after. The brief comment is a three-worded statement "It is finished."And after that, he addressed his Father specifically, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” With that, the Lord bowed his head and died. “It is finished” are not the last words of Jesus on the cross, but they seem to be the most important and blessed words that our Lord spoke on the cross.

Remember, when Jesus cried, “Eloi, Eloi, lama Sabachthani” his mockers thought he was calling Elijah. They totally misunderstood what he said. When he also cried, “It is finished” they too misunderstood him. They thought and rejoiced that they have finished him. They mistakenly thought that he has been finished. But Jesus was not in any way finished by his killers and by death itself. Easter that tells us he triumphantly came back.

When Jesus cried “It is finished” he meant all our sins are taken away. All our guilt that should have been imputed to us but was rather imputed to him has been taken care of. And Jesus announced it on the cross. He declared that our salvation is won, our sins are forgiven. And we believe that because Jesus said so on the cross and the beloved disciple recorded it.

“It is finished” was not a cry of being finished. When Jesus declared “It is finished” he was not saying, “I’m finished. I’m done. I’m ended. My life is gone. I tried but was not able to do it. I can’t do it.” That is not what the Lord meant when he said that. With a victorious confidence, Jesus addressed his Father and to us. To his Father, he says, “It is finished,” which means the work that you gave me to do is accomplished. The mission that you sent me to accomplish is finished. “It is finished” therefore is a shout of victory. It is a cry of obedience, God-centered obedience. And it is a word that you and I claim by our faith in Jesus Christ. To us, the Lord also says, “It is finished” which means I have given you everything. I have told you everything. I brought you the most beautiful message of all: God is love! God loves you! There is nothing left behind. I have emptied the bag. I have told you everything you need to know to gain salvation. I have given you everything you need to have to gain salvation. The complete message of love, the message of salvation and deliverance has been preached completely.

“It is finished” therefore means there is nothing I have not done or said for you to achieve salvation. I have emptied myself completely for you. My love has been given out to you unreservedly. My entire life has been poured out completely for your liberty. Nothing remains!

“It is finished” does not mean the Lord is finished. It rather means that the enmity between us and God is over. The enmity between us and God is finished. The sin that separates us from our loving God is erased. The barrier of sin has been finally destroyed. “It is finished” means that Satan’s power and victory over us is finished and over. He can no longer win the battle. “It is finished” means “I have finished the evil one.” Jesus was not finished; instead he finished his enemies and our enemies as well.

“It is finished” therefore does not mean that our Savior’s life is finished and ended; it means rather that eternal death is ended for those who would believe in him. New life therefore has been won! Jesus’ mockers misunderstood what he said and thought that he was finished. But Easter tells us he rose. Easter tells us he has risen. Easter tells us he lives to die no more.

And because Jesus lives, because he lives we can face tomorrow.

Because he rose and lives, the fearful and timid Apostles could no longer hide in a locked upper room. Because he lives, they were no longer afraid of the Jewish authorities.

Because he lives Peter who denied him three times would make a three time confession of love, “Yes Lord I love you.”

Because he lives, three thousand people would believe in him in one single day.

Because he lives, Stephen would later shed his innocent blood for the sake of the Risen Lord.

Because he lives, Saul of Tarsus who later took the name Paul would abandon crucifying him and his disciples and became a strong defender the Christian faith, and towards the end of his life said, “I have been crucified with Christ” “I have fought a good fight of faith.” Because he lives, St. Paul would say, “For me, to live is Christ Jesus and to die is gain.”

Because he lives, fishermen would become fishers’ of men and women. Because he lives, Peter and Paul would shed their blood for him.

Because he lives, the Western and the Eastern martyrs of the Church would run to martyrdom just to demonstrate how much they love him.

Because he lives, a holy priest Maximilian Kolbe would volunteer to be killed in order to save another man who had a family to cater for. Father Kolbe died in hope of the new life in the Risen Lord.

Because he lives, African martyrs- St. Charles Lwanga and his companions would give their young lives in witness to the power of the Risen Lord.

Because he lives, the young preacher from Georgia, Blessed Martin Luther King Jr. would lay down his life so that the true freedom won for us by Jesus on the cross would be enjoyed by everyone- the oppressed and the oppressor alike.

Because he lives, St. Alfonsus Maria Ligouri would abandon his famous profession, his noble status, and his family’s wealth in order to follow the Lord and to bring his beautiful message of salvation to the poorest of the poor that lived in the mountain of Naples.

Because he lives, Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador would refused to be intimidated by the political leaders, instead he pitched his tents with the poor- the friends of Jesus, fought for their freedom and rights and was eventually assassinated while celebrating the Eucharist. Because he lives, Archbishop Romero would refuse to obey the government when they asked him to stop preaching, but like St. Paul said, “I doomed if I do not preach the gospel.” And in words and deeds, he preached. He died defending the dignity of those created in the image of God.

Because he lives, you have become his followers; I have become his follower too. Because he lives, you have given your time, talent and treasure in the service and work of the Lord. Because he lives, we have all gathered here tonight. Because he lives, we can face tomorrow. We don’t know what tomorrow holds for us, but we know who holds tomorrow. Since the one who holds tomorrow is the one who loves us so much, we can live without fear of the unknown. The unknown is only unknown to us, but not unknown to the one who loves us so much, the one whom death could not hold in the grave.

Dearest beloved, the silence and the emptiness of Holy Saturday remind us of the silence of the world, our own silence in the face of the suffering of another. It reminds us of the silence of others, and sometimes our friends and family in the face of our own suffering. The emptiness of Holy Saturday reminds us of the emptiness of a life without God. It reminds us of the emptiness of a life of sin. Sin tends to be satisfying. But in the end, it is utter emptiness. Life without Christ is crisis. Life lived without an honest and profound relationship with God is emptiness. But Easter tells us that the emptiness and the silence of Holy Saturday is not the final word or the final day. Easter is the final word. Easter is the final day. Easter tells us that he lives. And because he lives, we can face tomorrow.

The seeming silence of God in the face of our difficulty does not mean we have been forgotten by God. Easter tells us that he lives. Because he lives, we can rejoice and be glad! We can be hopeful that after all the silence and emptiness of life, a new life, a new day, a new beginning would emerge. That’s what Easter tells us!

It tells us that every difficulty has an expiring date. Our pain, sorrow, loneliness, depression, illness, joblessness, lack, hardship etc have an expiring date. When that day comes, not even the devil can stop you from rising from that grave.

Because he lives, we too who believe in him would live!

Happy Easter!