Sunday, April 4, 2021

THE FIRST SUNDAY OF EASTER

(Mark 16: 1-7)

We can easily imagine how they felt. Participants at the funeral of the cop killed in Colorado two weeks ago were saddened and incredulous. They wondered how God could allow such a good person as Officer Eric Tanney to be shot dead. He had seven children and a history of dedicated service. We find the three women in the gospel walking to the tomb of Jesus with emotions as troubled as they.

Jesus gave women hope for a more just society. Instead of disdain for sinners, he preached openness to forgiveness. Instead of shunning the poor and sick, he helped them. Instead of ignoring the mistreatment of women in divorce, he championed their cause. He saw a society transformed by the Kingdom of God. But now it seems to the women that hopes for a renewed life have fallen like shacks in the path of a bulldozer.

Some of us may feel this way after one of the most difficult years since the world wars of the last century. Be it Covid or other diseases, several of our friends and relatives have died this past year. Many children have barely advanced in school. Particularly the poor have had financial difficulties.

Within the faith community as well, several serious concerns have arisen. There is the possibility of apostasy in Germany on moral issues such as "gay marriages". Covid has brought new concerns about mass attendance. With the lockdown and dispensations from attending Sunday Mass, the number of churchgoers has greatly diminished. Noting the tendency to abandon the faith in recent times, demographers predict that many who have attended virtual Masses will not return to church. Then there will be more parishes closed and less funds to continue the apostolic mission.

These practical problems have their parallel in the gospel. The women wonder who will roll away the stone from the tomb for them. However, when they arrive, they discover the stone already removed. Glancing inside, they find an angel who tells them not to be afraid. Then he delivers the unheard-of news: Jesus is risen. He is not among the dead because he lives again.

This message expresses Easter faith as our hope. Yes, sometimes our problems appear overwhelming, but they are not going to defeat us because Jesus is risen. He will overcome apostasies, lack of people and resources, our doubts, and even our death. Well, he is the Lord of history that cannot be defeated.

Jesus, the risen one, wants us to participate in his victory. We have to envision and work for a renewed people. In the gospel the angel commands the women to tell the disciples to meet him in Galilee. There Jesus began his mission with great success. From there he will begin again to announce the Kingdom of love and justice. But this time his mission will not be limited to Israel but will include the entire world.

In times past on Easter Sunday everyone wore new clothes. It could be a dress, a tie, or a pair of shoes. Curiously, in this time of abundance we have largely abandoned this custom. However, the new clothes were only a symbol of a renewed person. We are still expected to live as new men and women. Whether we wear a new dress or just a new smile, we are to practice love and justice.