Homily for Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord

The Stunning Lessons of The Resurrection

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord 

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, March 31, 2024

The Resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the be-all and end-all of the Christian faith. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, the pope, all bishops, priests, religious men, religious women, Christian ministers should go home and get themselves involved in something else. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, all the Christian faithful should leave their churches immediately and church buildings should be turned into something else like city halls, auditoriums or department stores. Now, before you frown at what I have just said, listen to what the great Apostle Paul himself said, “If Christ has not been raised, then empty (too) is our preaching; empty, too, your faith. Then we are also false witnesses to God, because we testify against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise…” (I Corinthians 15:14-15). Speaking further, St. Paul says, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins…we the most pitiable people of all.”

More to it, if Jesus was not raised from death, Christianity is a fraud and a joke taken too far. But if he did rise from death, then Christianity is the fullness of God’s revelation, and Jesus must be the absolute center of our lives. There is no third option. There is no sitting on the fence. It is of no good trying to explain away the Resurrection or to rationalize it as a myth, a symbol or a legend. The stubborn fact is that Jesus Christ is Risen. He rose! The tomb is empty. Death could not hold him. 

As we celebrate this unprecedented event, permit me to share with you some of the priceless and enduring lessons of Easter. 

1. The first enduring message of Easter is that God is up to something greater than we had imagined. So, we don’t have to live as if death were our master. We can, in fact, begin to see this world as a place of formation, growing and maturing towards something greater, something more permanent, more stable, more reliable, more beautiful and splendid.  
2. Second, Easter highlights the triumph of truth, justice and sacrificial love; it promises the ultimate victory of good over evil. Easter teaches that injustice will never win. Wickedness will never win. Lies and deceit will never win. Hatred will never win. In the final analysis, evil will never win. In the here and now, it might seem evil is winning. It might seem that corrupt people are having their way. It might seem that those who mock Jesus and deride religion are winning. But when all is said and done, they will end up losers. They will be on the losing end. Where are those who executed Jesus now? Where are the Pharisees, the scribes and the elders of the people? Where is Pontus Pilate now? The reason why they are even remembered is because of Jesus. Don’t give up hope. Now, it might seem might is right. It might seem the end justifies the means. It might seem there is no objective truth— you have your truth, I have my truth, everyone has his or her own truth. There is actually nothing like the truth. Now, it might seem appealing, it might appear smart to simply deny the existence of God. But in the final analysis, truth will win. Easter tells me that what is wrong will never ever win. So, always stay with the truth, and we know that Jesus is the truth. 
3. Third, the bodily Resurrection of Jesus tells us we have an Advocate in heaven. In fact, the path of salvation has been opened to everyone. Jesus went all the way down, journeying into excruciating pain, despair, abandonment, betrayal and even godforsakenness. He went as far as we can go away from the Father. In light of the Resurrection, the first Christians realized that even as we run as fast as we can away from the Father, we are running into the arms of the Son. Anyone who is running away from God, who is moving into godforsakenness, is running into the arms of Jesus who went all the way down even to godforsakenness. No matter where you are in your spiritual life— up, down, down and out, you can always encounter the Risen Lord.