|
Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary-
Homilies |
"Be Not Afraid to
Find Everything in Christ"
Homily for
Easter Sunday
Fr. Jonathan L. Reardon
24 April 2011
Year A
Our Gospel
today is St. Matthew’s account of Christ’s resurrection. Matthew
proclaims this historical fact: that Jesus did indeed rise from
the dead as He said, that He appeared that day, alive, to the
same women that witnessed His brutal torture, execution and
burial. The question that lingers is this: why these women go
out to the tomb that morning – the morning after the Sabbath?
St. Mark reports that they had gone out with spices to finish
the burial rites. But when they arrive, they find that their
plans are altered. The quiet morning is shattered by the by the
appearance of the angel coming down from heaven, heralded by a
terrifying earthquake – a quake that shakes them to their very
core and it frightens them and not only them but the guards
stationed around the tomb. It is no wonder the angel tells them:
“do not be afraid.” The angel knows these women, he knows that
they had come to pay their final respects to the Messiah, he
knows their faith and their love; he therefore gives them the
instructions to go to Galilee, tell His disciples and there you
will see Him. Still a bit frightened the women went away filled
with joy – the one whom they had followed, the one in whom they
had trusted, the one whom they have loved had not abandoned
them, He had not left them to fend for themselves but has
confirmed their faith and ignited in their hearts a deeper love
and trust in Him. As they meet Him along the way their initial
reaction was to fall to His feet in homage, showing their
affection and love for Him. With Christ’s instructions they
become the first apostles of the Resurrection for it was
entrusted to them to bring the message of the Risen Lord to His
closest followers.
The
Resurrection of Jesus is the central reality of the Catholic
faith and has been preached as such since this moment in history
– for over 2,000 years! Jesus gave the command to His disciples
to announce that He is alive and still, 20 centuries later, we
make the same proclamation. And this message, this
proclamation, this reality is the joy of our faith and crowns us
with lasting happiness and consolation, for Christ who, says St.
Josemaria Escriva, “was crucified, died, and was buried has
triumphed over death, He has overcome sorrow, anguish, sin, and
the power of darkness…in Him we find everything.”
It is no
coincidence, then, that both the angel and Christ Himself, tell
the women to not be afraid. For they want them to experience for
themselves the great joy of Christ’s resurrection – the joy of
His victory. And yet, St. Matthew reports, they were still
fearful. This fear, I think, is common to us all. It is what
holds us back from having an encounter with the Risen Lord and
from being overjoyed for simply being Christians. For us, it
seems that we can be all too comfortable in the darkness of our
hearts, with a mammoth stone blocking the light of day – the
light that radiates from the glory of the Risen Christ.
What is it,
then, that we are afraid of? Why are we so comfortable in our
darkness? The fear of allowing the power of Christ’s
resurrection to roll back that stone and expose us to the light
of His grace. Perhaps it is the fear of knowing that to follow
Him means death – not death in the natural sense, for that comes
to us all anyway – but a death to self, the laying aside that
which is comfortable, that which enflames our pride, that which
avoids confrontation – not with others but with God, that which
knows nothing but the wounds of hearts because that is all we
have ever known. Perhaps we are afraid that to follow Christ
means losing something of ourselves. But that which we do not
realize, Pope Benedict reminds us, is that there is a remedy
even for death. This remedy is Christ. This remedy leads to a
transformation from within, it creates new life within us that
does not end in death but begins a new the fullness of grace
within us – it leads us to becoming fully the men and women God
has created us to be. Opening our hearts to Jesus is allowing
His death and His resurrection to shake us to the very core our
being. It may frighten us at first, but like the women in our
Gospel reading, we may be frightened but overjoyed. For this
transformation leads to joy, a joy that is not commanded but
given by God Himself. Upon his election as the Successor of
Peter, on the 22 of October 1978, our soon-to-be Blessed Pope
John Paul II shouted from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica:
“do not be afraid!” Echoing those same words, in his inaugural
homily as the Vicar of Christ, Pope Benedict XVI commented:
“If we let
Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely
nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great… Do not be
afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you
everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a
hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ
– and you will find true life.”
How, then, can we let the power of Christ’s resurrection seep
into our minds and hearts? How can we pay our homage, affection
and love for the Lord? By keeping Sunday holy. Every Sunday is a
solemnity throughout the year. Every Sunday we gather around the
altar of the Lord, to celebrate His passion, death and
resurrection. Every Sunday, therefore, the central reality of
Christian life – the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ
– is made present to us. May we have the courage to let the
power of this reality to pierce the darkness of our hearts,
shake us to the depths of our being and transform us from
within, for this is our encounter with the Risen Lord. Fearful
yet joyful, let us not miss this opportunity to meet the Risen
Christ and experience the power of His victory over death – a
victory that is ours as well. As we prepare and come forward for
Holy Communion, may this be the moment we come face to face with
Christ and hear Him say to us: “Do not be afraid but believe!”
