God is Now Here!
Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR
Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter, Year B
St. Gerard Majella Church, Baton Rouge, LA
Sunday, April 19, 2015
The visit of Mary Magdalene and others who went to the tomb and found the stone rolled away (John 20:1) led to the breaking of the Good News: “He is risen; he is not here.” But after that, Jesus wanted to reassure his disciples that his resurrection wasn’t a facade, an illusion, a charade or a lie. To prove to naysayers who would argue that the claim of his resurrection was a deception, he started appearing to his disciples. According to St. Luke, Jesus appeared to two men, one was named Cleopas, on the road to Emmaus the afternoon of the resurrection. He accompanied them to their homes, and it was when he broke bread with them, that their eyes opened and they now recognized him (Luke 24:31). In St. John, Jesus appeared to the disciples as they were gathered behind locked doors late Sunday evening with the greeting: “Peace be with you!” During this appearance, Thomas was absent. John goes on to say that Jesus appeared again in the same place a week later (John 20:26-29). This time Thomas was around and he was able to see for himself that the Lord is indeed risen when Jesus showed him the nail prints in his hands and his side that was pierced.
Today’s Gospel (Luke 24:35-48) testifies even further that the risen Jesus was not a ghost. His appearances were not visions or dreams or hallucinations. They were not a figment of the disciples’ imaginations. He is truly risen! He rose in his flesh. He was in the flesh even after resurrection. The tomb was empty. A ghost does not have flesh. To completely remove any doubt from the minds of his disciples who thought he was a ghost, Jesus said to them, “Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have” (Luke 24: 39). As if that was not enough, Jesus asked for food. A ghost cannot eat. A ghost does not have a body that can be touched by others. A ghost is bodiless. But the Risen Jesus had flesh; he had body. The person that appeared to the disciples is Jesus who had conquered death through his death. At his first appearance, He said to his disciples: "Peace be with you," which means, "I got this! Worry no more! I have your back. I am with you. I will journey with you through thick and thin. I will help you in every step of the way. If you must carry that cross, I will help you carry it. I will lighten the weight so it doesn't crush you. You cannot walk alone. I am right beside you, behind you, and ahead of you. Be calm! Be hopeful! Be still! Stop the panic! This too shall pass away! Your storm today will pass away. Your tears today will dry up. Your sorrows today will pass away. Your failures today will pass away. Your present ugly condition is not going to be your destination. I will turn all the stumbling block into stepping stone to glory, abundance, and fulfillment. Shalom! I have come to turn things around. Just lean on me. Depend on me. Ride on my back! You will surely get to the finish line of your dreams and aspiration.
This expression, “GODISNOWHERE” could be pronounced as “God is no where” or “God is now here.” To those who do not believe in the resurrection, when Jesus died on the cross, it was “God is no where.” But for us who believe that he is risen, “God is now here.” He lives in our hearts. He lives among us. He lives within us. Jesus lives to die no more. As his followers, we have died to sin (Romans 6:2). As his disciples, we have died with our Master, Jesus, and we believe we shall also rise with him (Romans 6:8). To resurrect is to rise up from the dead. It means to be alive again. It means to have something, (life) that we have lost. If we are truly the resurrected people of God, then we must die to wrongdoing and be alive in uprightness. We must be dead to hate and hatred and be alive to love. We must be dead to disobedience and be alive to faithfulness to God. We must be dead to greed and selfishness and be alive to compassion and generosity. We must be dead to pride and be alive to humility. We must be dead to bigotry and prejudice and be alive to friendship, hospitality, acceptance and integration. We must be dead to indifference and be alive to empathy and sympathy. We must be dead to anger and malice and be alive to reconciliation and forgiveness. We must be dead to bitterness and mean spiritedness and be alive to joy and goodness. We must be dead to conflict and division and be alive to peace and healing. We must be dead to despair and be alive to hope. We must be dead to lies and deception and be alive to sincerity and honesty. When we are dead to all that contradict Jesus’ teaching of “love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34), then we are truly risen with Jesus Christ, to die no more.
