EASTER SUNDAY:Vigil Mass: Rom 6: 3-11; Mt 28:1-10; Easter Sunday: Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Col 3:1-4; Jn 20:1-9 or Mt 28: 1-10 

There arose a great question in the world as to who is the strongest in this universe. Everybody thought “iron” is the greatest because all the weapons and ammunition are made of iron. So, everybody went to Iron and said Oh, Iron, you are the mightiest in the world. We would like you to become our king. Iron thought for a moment and said, well, I am strong, but there is someone stronger than me, I know. It is Fire. Before the fire, I melt. So, fire is stronger than I am. So, everyone went to the fire and requested it to be their king. But fire said I am not the strongest. Water is the strongest. When water falls on me, I am out. So, everyone went to the water and said Oh, water, why won’t you become our king because you are the strongest in this world? Water then said, oh no. I am not the strongest. The Sun is the strongest. When the Sun hits hard on me, I am evaporated and gone. So, it is the sun, the strongest. Everybody went to the Sun and asked him to become the king of the universe. The Sun said I am strong but not the strongest. The cloud is stronger than I am. When the cloud comes in front of me, I am powerless. I cannot pierce through the cloud. So, everyone went to the cloud and made their request. The cloud said, no I am not the strongest. The wind is stronger than I am. When the wind blows, I am blown away. I cannot even stand up against the wind. So, everyone went to the wind and said oh wind, why don’t you become our king? He said, no, I am not the strongest. The mountains are stronger than I am. They just stop me on my track. I cannot go any further from the mountain. So, everyone went to the mountain and made their request. The mountain said it is the man who is stronger than I am. He uses machines to level me and crushes me down. So, finally, everyone went to the man and said, you are surely the mightiest and should rule over the world. The man said, yes, I am strong. And I like to rule everybody, but I am not the strongest because I am motionless before death. Death is the strongest. So, everyone went to the death and said, you are the mightiest of everyone we know. You should rule over the world. The death said, Yes, I am the strongest, at least; that is what I thought so far. But there is one who defeated death and came out of the tomb. It is Jesus.

Brothers and sisters, we are rejoicing today because we found the mightiest person of all, and he is none other than the God-man Jesus who conquered death.

Life and death are two inevitable realities of human existence. If life comes to an end with death, the reality of life is meaningless and absurd. But for a Christian believer, death is only an inevitable door through which one has to pass to attain a fuller and richer life because Jesus conquered death and rose from the dead and shares that risen life with his followers.

Paul says, "Death has been swallowed up in victory. He asks, Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" (1 Cor. 15:54–55). Like a serpent whose poison can only anesthetize its victim for a short time but cannot kill him, death has lost its sting. Our physical death here is not the end anymore, and we will rise from that at the powerful words of Jesus, the same powerful words he spoke at the tomb of Lazarus.

St. Paul writes again: “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain; and your faith is in vain.  And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is a delusion, and you are still lost in your sins.  But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (I Cor 15:14, 17, 20). If Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, then the Church is a fraud and Faith is a sham. But if Jesus really did rise from the dead, his message is true!  All the basic doctrines of Christianity are founded on the truth of the Resurrection.  “Jesus is Lord; He has risen!” (Rom 10:9) was the central theme of the kerygma (or “preaching”), of the apostles.  

Jesus assured Martha at the tomb of Lazarus: “I am the Resurrection and the Life; whoever believes in Me will live even though he die” (Jn 11:25-26).  Christ will raise us up on the last day, but it is also true, in a sense, that we have already risen with Christ.  By virtue of the Holy Spirit, our Christian life is already a participation in the death and Resurrection of Christ (CCC #1002, #1003).

The Resurrection of Jesus had certain special features. First, Jesus prophesied it as a sign of His Divinity: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up”(Jn 2:19).  Second, the founder of no other religion has an empty tomb as Jesus does.  We see the fulfillment of Christ’s promise in the empty tomb. The angel said to the women at Jesus’ tomb: “Why are you looking among the dead for One Who is alive?  He is not here but has risen” (Lk 24:5-6). The real proof, however, is not the empty tomb but the lives of believers filled with His Spirit today. The third special feature is the initial disbelief of Jesus’ disciples in his Resurrection, despite his repeated apparitions.  This serves as strong proof of his Resurrection. It explains why the apostles started preaching the Risen Christ only after receiving the anointing of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.  

Easter is not just a past event; it is a present reality. We are called to be an Easter people. The feast of Easter is as much about life before death as is life after death. It assures us that death and darkness are not the ultimate realities of our lives. The light of the risen Lord has entered every experience of darkness. We are not supposed to lie buried in the tomb of our sins, evil habits, and dangerous addictions.  No tombs can hold us down any longer – not the tombs of despair, discouragement, doubt, or death itself.  Instead, we are expected to live a joyful and peaceful life, constantly experiencing the real presence of the Risen Lord in all the events of our lives.  It assures us that the place of death, whatever form death takes, can also be the place of new life.

The angel's first words to the women visiting the tomb were, ‘There is no need to be afraid’. The violence done to Jesus generated a great deal of fear among his followers. Now that Jesus has risen there is no need for fear. Easter is a feast of courage.

Resurrection awaits each one of us after our short earthly sojourn. It is this certainty that keeps us going in the midst of all the experiences of day-to-day dying. May the hope of resurrection give meaning to our lives and help us to look forward to the fullness of life with the Lord.