May the joy of the Risen Lord be yours! May we see and understand as he sees and understands. May his Father really be our Father. Happy Easter to all! This Easter morning seems unique, that “there has never been an Easter like this” before. But perhaps it isn’t as unique as we may first think.
In his Easter homily, Bishop Mark Davies in Great Britain, said:
If Easter rejoicing seems as much out of place as the bright sunshine of Spring at this time of national anxiety, then let us remind ourselves that the hope of Easter itself sprang from the stark reality of human suffering and Christ’s death on the Cross, and that it would be heard first by men and women ‘self-isolated’ in fear.
The power of the Lord’s resurrection has rarely been so clear to us. When the stone was rolled away, when he was raised from the dead, Jesus Christ vanquished the hold of sin and death. The Risen Lord revealed the eternity of love. The love of God the Father can be accepted (to any degree) or rejected. If accepted, our hearts and lives become molded by it. As the Prophet Isaiah wrote, “And yet, Lord, you are our Father; we the clay, you the potter, we are the work of your hand.” At 7:30 every night we hear the banging of pots and pans, a gesture recognizing the selflessness of healthcare workers and those caring for us in a variety of ways. In the unmelodious clanging we hear a beautiful hymn of God’s love. The goodness of human beings, the “work of your hand.” While we may feel anxiety and fear, through the gift of this morning, we also see the power of his resurrection. In our self-isolation, our hearts are being opened to the greater awareness of our need for others, for community, for relationship, for human affection. And in our self-isolation, our hearts are opened even more to the free reception of God’s love. We know what we need and what we want. We want his love to cover us like the dewfall, to live each day knowing we do not go alone, but we live with the one who is Life, who has given us his word. The Risen Lord said to his disciples in Galilee and to us now, “know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.”
May the joy of the Risen Lord be yours! May we see and understand as he sees and understands. May his Father really be our Father. Happy Easter to all! Alleluia!
-Fr. John