A New King Has Arisen To Take The Throne

Rev. Marcel E. Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Resurrection of the Lord (Easter Sunday)

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, April 12, 2020

On Palm Sunday, Jesus enters the holy city of Jerusalem acclaimed by many as the Son of David who has come as the Davidic warrior. And he actually went up to the temple area and picked a fight. However, as Holy Week unfolded, it is as though all the powers that had opposed him from the time of his birth came out in full force to meet him. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem is built over the sites of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus. It commemorates and preserves the battlefield where Jesus the Warrior engaged in his utmost struggle. On those sites, Jesus is met by deep-seated hatred, by denial, by betrayal, by violence, by stupidity, by institutional injustice, and by incomparable cruelty. When we read the passion narratives, it is as though all of human darkness comes out to meet him. But on Mount Calvary, Jesus engages in the final battle. He responds to the violence unleashed on him, not with more violence, rather he allows all the darkness to wash over him. He takes upon himself the sins of the world and then says, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” So, on the cross, Jesus interrupts the terrible play of violence and counter-violence, vengeance and counter-vengeance which bedevils the human race from the very beginning. It is as though the Father takes the cross and puts it into work to interrupt this terrible process. Jesus takes away the sins of the world and that is how he fights. 

Now, what prevents us from saying that Jesus was a failed revolutioner or an inspiring idealist? It is the stubborn fact of the Resurrection. You know, from a historical standpoint, it is practically impossible to explain the emergence of Christianity as a Messianic movement apart from the Resurrection. If you wanted to make a case that someone was not the Messiah, it would be his death in the hands of Israel’s enemy. The Messiah was supposed to gather the tribes; he was supposed to lead the nation of Israel in a fight to defeat the enemy of Israel. So, the strongest argument to make that someone was not the Messiah of Israel was that he was crucified by the Romans. In the year 132, Bar Kokhba led a revolution of the Jews against the Roman Empire. At the time, many proclaimed him to be the Messiah. They minted coins and declared it is the year of Bar Kokhba. But his revolution was stopped; he was arrested and put to death by the Romans. From that very moment, no one thinks of him as the Messiah. As for Jesus, the early Christians proclaimed boldly that he is the Messiah. St. Paul called him, “Iesous Christos,” that is, Jesus the Messiah. The first disciples went to the end of the world proclaiming he is the Messiah of the Jews. They did all that, risked their lives, endured torture and death because of the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead

For sometime now, a growing number of contemporary scholars have been trying to explain away the resurrection of Jesus. They claim it is a myth, a legend, a symbol and a sign that prolongs Jesus’ cause. But no first century Christian would have found any of that convincing. Can you imagine, for instance, Paul declaring, “I am proclaiming an inspiring dead man.” No one would have taken him seriously. What St. Paul said over and over again was “Anastasis!” “Anastasis!” — Resurrection! Resurrection! That was the first great Christian message. 

Today’s Gospel (John 20:1-9) tells us that early in the morning, while it was still dark, Mary of Magdala went to the tomb. Visiting the tomb that early when most people were still sleeping and when most people would be scared to visit a tomb could be a demonstration of her love for Jesus or the deep grief she was feeling over the death of Jesus or both. When she got to the tomb, she saw a tomb that has been tampered with. The stone which covered the tomb has been removed. Out of desperation, she ran to Peter and delivered a sad news: “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” Peter and John left immediately to the tomb. The Gospel said “They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and (therefore) arrived at the tomb first.” When he bent down and peeped into the tomb, he only saw the burial cloths. When Simon Peter finally arrived, he went straight into the tomb and saw the burial cloths and other cloths all rolled up. Shortly, the other disciple went in and saw clearly and from a close range, what he ab initio saw when he peeped. The Gospel said, “he saw and believed.” 

What is it that he believed? You can argue that he believed the sad report of Mary of Magdala which says that they have taken the Lord from the tomb. But the most persuasive and compelling argument is this: he believed that Jesus is Risen. Before they saw what they saw, they had not yet come to understand the Scripture which affirms that Jesus will rise from the dead. But after seeing the empty tomb, they believed that the Son of Man, the triumphant Warrior is Risen. Come to think of it, if the body of Jesus was stolen, the perpetrators won’t wait around to untie the burial clothes and to fold them. If his body was taken away from the tomb to another place by the chief priests, the last thing they would do is to keep the burial clothes in the tomb because doing so would send the signal that he is risen. Don’t forget that they had previously made plans to prevent his disciples from stealing his body and then claiming that he is risen. Jesus’ closest disciples believed that their Master, once killed has risen. It is precisely why St. Paul, once he had seen the Risen Christ could say, “I am certain that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither heights or depths, nor any other power can separate us from the love of God.” How does Paul know that? Because we killed God, and God returned with forgiving love. That is why through all his letters, he would say, “Iesous Kyrios”— Jesus is Lord. The watchword of the era was, “Kaizer kyrios” meaning “Caesar is Lord.” Caesar was the one whom final allegiance is due. But the message Paul has for the world is, “No, not Caesar, rather Jesus is the Lord. He is the new King of the nations. He is risen to die no more. All who believe him and believe in him will reign with him. 

So, the message of Easter is that there is a new King in town. Or as we say, there is a new Sherif in town. The difference between the old sherif, the old king and the New is that the new King reigns with love, kindness, compassion, and mercy.