On the morning of the resurrection (Easter), Jesus greeted the women: “Peace,” he said. Then he went on: “Do not be afraid!” That is the great Easter message from the risen saviour. As people who have participated fully in the mysteries of the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus, we no longer need to be afraid as we journey through life, because we believe Jesus has overcome the great obstacle of death.
As the soldiers crucified Jesus, the Jewish and Roman authorities thought that was the end of it; the disintegration of human life, human plans, human hopes. But it wasn’t. Nothing had ended. And because of that, everything changed. The women found an empty tomb and a messenger with a word of life. “He is not here. He has risen.” A life in Christ cannot be fruitless or buried. Faithfulness cannot be shut up in a tomb. The worst that life can hold for a human being – weakness, infidelity, betrayal, suffering, even death itself – all of that has lost its sting and its ability to terrify the Christian.
Dear friends, may our faith in the resurrection shatter all in our lives that seem to be a tomb – joblessness, family challenges, sickness, betrayal from life partners and friends. May these “tombs” become empty in the face of Jesus’ resurrection, as he opens new opportunities for us. And as Jesus does this for us, may we, like the women, go out to tell others of this power in the resurrection so that they too can rise out of their fears, desperations and their sense of hopelessness.
“Peace! . . . Do not be afraid.”
Happy Easter
Fr. Gabriel Wankar
Priest-in-Residence