Easter, 2022
[Hello, Church fans! Well, it took me a week to recover, but here is the Easter homily along with the video. What does it meant to mean to be an Easter people? The theological virtues can give us insight. ]
Last year I spoke about why the resurrection is so important for us as human beings. Namely, that as human beings we are unique in that we have a body and a rational soul. Christ entered fully into our human nature, body and soul. He did not redeem just part of us, he has redeemed and perfected all of us. The resurrected Jesus is humanity perfected, body and soul. So if we die with him in baptism, we will rise with him in glory at the resurrection at the end of the age.
However, the reality of the resurrection begins now. As Pope St. John Paul II said, “We are Easter people, and Alleluia is our song!”
What then does it mean to be an Easter people? Three things, I think.
First it means that we are a people of Faith.
Faith, we know, is not simply assent to a disembodied set of philosophical principles.
Too often in the world today, there are those who try to reduce Jesus of Nazareth to just another wise sage who taught us how to live in peace, love, joy and harmony,
…Jesus of Nazareth…sensitive new age guy.
Faith, at its heart is a relationship,
With Christ and with others.
It is not rocket science. If you want a relationship to grow, you give it two things
– time and attention.
The more time and attention you give it, the deeper it will grow. Until we reach the point where the lover and the beloved are joined at the deepest level of human existence, a perfect and holy communion at the very level of our being.
This holy communion was described by Saint Francis de Sales as “Cor ad cor loquitur.” – “Heart speaks to heart.”
To be an Easter People is to be a people of faith.
To be an Easter People is also to be a people of hope.
Hope, of course, is born within the context of the relationship of faith.
Hope, in its simplest form, simply means a founded, realistic expectation of some future good.
There are two kinds of hope.
- “little” immediate hope and
- eschatological or “ultimate” hope
It is important not to confuse real, theological hope with wishful thinking.
Wishful thinking is an unfounded expectation of something that may or may not happen.
For example, “I hope Fr. Leo doesn’t preach too long, I have a leg of lamb in the oven for Easter supper.”
But real hope is founded on one’s relationship with the other. It can be immediate or ultimate.
For example, say you get a call from your spouse who says, “Hey, honey. Come home hungry because I am making your favorite dish for dinner tonight.”
That, my friends, is a founded hope. You know your spouse loves you and knows what your favorite dish is. That same spouse has revealed to you that tonight’s dinner will indeed be your favorite. Furthermore, you know that you spouse would not lie to you. You now have a founded, realistic hope in a really tasty future good.
Do you have any guarantee? Absolutely! Your relationship with your spouse. Over the years, your relationship has grown and deepened to the point where you know beyond the shadow of a doubt that when you get home, the house will smell wonderful, and you are going to enjoy your favorite meal with your favorite person.
Having such a hope changes the entire rest of your day. No matter what the world, your boss or the clients throw at you that afternoon, because you await the blessed hope of the taste of the meal to come. Amen!
It’s not all that different with eschatological, that is, ultimate hope.
As a people of faith, living in relationship with Jesus in the midst of the Church, it has been revealed to us that ‘what we await is a new heaven and a new earth.” (2Pet 3:13) when those who have died in Christ in baptism will rise, body and soul with Him into eternity. This is our hope
“and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5)
We await the blessed hope
And the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ.
To be an Easter People is to be a people of hope.
Finally, to be an Easter people is to be a people of love.
To help me out, I’d like to turn to one Monhandes K. Gandhi. Gandhi enumerated seven “deadly sins”. They are
• Wealth Without Work
• Pleasure Without Conscience
• Knowledge Without Character
• Commerce Without Morality
• Science Without Humanity
• Politics Without Principle
• Religion Without Sacrifice
This last one kind of hits home doesn’t it.
Faith, our relationship with Christ and others, gives rise to our hope.
And hope changes how we live in the midst of the world. Hope gives rise to Love.
And love involves sacrifice.
Thomas Aquinas tells us that love intends the good of the other.
And the deeper the love, the greater and more eternal is the good that one intends.
In the warm of deepest love, no price too great, no sacrifice is too high.
Ultimately, we come to realize that Our Lord was correct when he said, “There is no greater love than to lay down your life for a friend.”
Faith gives rise to hope
Hope gives rise love
And love gives everything, sacrifices everything for the good of the other.
I am reminded of the words that Our Lord spoke to the Apostles in the Upper Room at the last supper, “What I have done is give you and example. As I have done, so you should do.”
There is no greater love…
To be an Easter people is to be a people of love, a people of sacrifice.
But where love is present, sacrifice comes easily.
To be an Easter people is to be a people of Faith, Hope and Love.
“We are an Easter people, and alleluia is our song.”