May 7, 2017

3^rd Sunday of Easter  

“Easter:  A Proof, Hope and Challenge” 

Msgr. Thomas Gervasio

When he served in office, British Prime Minister, David Cameron was asked: “What is the message of Easter?” He replied, “The message of Easter is kindness, compassion, hard work and responsibility.” Well, no one would say that these are not good things. We could all support the need for kindness, compassion, hard work and responsibility. Yet, with all due respect for the Prime Minister, I would have to say, that he couldn’t have gotten it more wrong. His response has nothing whatsoever to do with Easter!
 
Easter is about the resurrection of Christ from the dead. As the Church continues to place before us over the Sundays of the Easter Season, the appearances of the Risen Lord, we should strive to understand this mystery which is the foundational article of our Faith.
 
Fr. Ronald Knox, an Oxford don and convert to the Faith helps along this way when he tells us that the Resurrection is essentially three things: It is a proof, a hope and a challenge.
 
It is a proof in that it confirms Christ’s divinity, that He is truly the Son of God. Jesus is truly who He says He is. The Resurrection of Christ is the fulfillment of the promises of the Old Testament and of Jesus Himself. This is precisely what Our Lord presented to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. St Luke tells us that “…beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures.”
 
Moreover, in his appearances, Jesus affirms that he is not a ghost or phantom. Did you ever notice that in his appearances after his resurrection, Jesus invited Thomas to put his finger in his hands and put his hand into his side? He also asked his apostles for something to eat. The Lord’s presence is entirely physical but he is different. His body is glorified yet very real. He is of flesh and bone.
 
Fr. Knox also calls the resurrection a “hope.” Easter proclaims that death is conquered. Death does not have the last word. It shows us how God will be faithful to His promises. Jesus provides this hope to us on nearly every page of the Gospel. “This is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks upon the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life. Him I shall raise up on the last day.” This is the great hope that moves the Church forward. It is the hope that helps us so much when we have to face the mystery of death, especially those sorrowful times when the Lord calls to Himself our loved ones. St. Paul exhorts us: “I would not have you grieve like those who have no hope.” A disciple of Christ is always a person of great hope.
 
Finally, Fr. Knox calls the Resurrection a “challenge.” In what sense does he mean this? It is through Baptism that we already share in the new and risen life of Christ. Baptism is a death to sin and a rising to new life. Baptism makes us new creatures, children of God. Baptism bestows on us sanctifying grace, the very life of God.
 
The challenge lies in living day to day in that grace. This is one reason we come to Mass each week: to fortify that strength within us, to receive the grace we need to “get through the week” in the grace of God. Sometimes we struggle to get through the day in the grace of God! The challenges, like being more charitable in our words and deeds, to make more time for prayer, to be stronger in times of temptation, to keep to flame of faith and hope bring in times of doubts and anxiety.
 
Kindness, compassion, hard work and responsibility are good things, even great things but they do not form our Easter faith which is a proof, a hope and a challenge.