Homily on Easter Morning
On Good Friday morning, we heard a reading from St John Chrysostom about the fact that the Church, we, were born from the side of the Crucified Christ. Blood and water flowed from his pierced side: water the sign of baptism, and blood the Holy Eucharist. From His wounded and risen Body, the Church finds her reason to exist. To continue what he began by being His Body here on earth; to be His Church and spread the Good News of God’s Love.
On this Easter morning, we are called to remember who we are: we are the church born from his body on the Cross and sealed with the glory of the resurrection. We are not perfect and neither has the Church been, especially in recent years. But that is the institution; you and I are the Body of Christ, alive and present in the world. I have been praying about how I can help renew our local community in the faith of the Risen One; this year I realized, I cannot. But the power of the Risen One can renew us if we want it to happen.
It was the power of the resurrection that enabled Peter to preach the Good News. It was the power of the Resurrection that enabled them to run joyously to the tomb and gave Mary of Magdala the courage to proclaim the Resurrection before all others. If we truly believe in the power of the Risen One with faith the unseen power of yeast, the world will be changed by God.
The community of believers at the beginning were a very small group of men and women. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, they knew the power of Jesus crucified and risen. The Eucharist that they shared in memory of Jesus empowered them to preach and the courage to die for him. If we want, it can happen today.
It is my understanding that this local church began the same way. A small group of Catholics longed for the Mass and formed this community under the Bishop of that day. From that faith, this building was built and this community formed. Can it happen again? Through the power of Almighty, the power of the Risen one and through a new outpouring of faith, it can. Will it be the same? No. Just as we do not live in the first century, the church of today is different. But, if we want the same hope of those who first saw the Risen Christ and those who began this local church, then we must beg God for a new beginning and out pouring of the Holy Spirit.
So, where do we begin? In the same place they began on Easter morning, with faith in the Risen Christ. In the same place as the ancestors of this parish, with faith in the Risen One. God can and will restore if we have faith and are willing to share the sweat of our brows. So many already do, but we need the younger generations to step forward with the same faith of Mary of Magdala, Peter, and the apostles and those who started this parish.
I cannot solve the issues we face in the larger church and society today and neither can you. But, with faith in the Resurrection and the power of Jesus, we can be reborn. May the Lord open your hearts to make it happen.
