EASTER SUNDAY: A Day The Lord Has Made

READINGS AT MASS

Acts 10:34, 37-43

Psalm 118:1-2, 15-17, 22-23

1 Cor. 5:6-8 (or Col. 3:1-4)

John 20:1-9

Theme:

A DAY THE LORD HAS MADE

Dear friends in Christ, N'wokafu YESU KRISTO...

Christ is risen, Alleluia! Today’s Responsorial Psalm is an entrance hymn in the Temple Liturgy. It is like an entrance song or opening hymn in our time. The Hebrew phrase that was translated to mean "this is the day the Lord has made", can also mean "...on the day when the Lord takes action... "

Whenever the Lord takes action it is always a marvel in our eyes. When God acts, the rejected stone becomes the cornerstone. This is faith! It is only faith that can open us up to the actions of God. For God to take action, our faith is required. The resurrection experience that we celebrate today is a faith experience.

In today’s Gospel, the interesting yet very relevant personality of the beloved disciple is presented to us. This man saw very troubling evidence but believed. What did he see? In fact, he saw nothing. He saw an EMPTY TOMB! Mary Magdalene saw the empty tomb and sensed conspiracy, Peter saw it and said nothing because he could not conclude on what actually happened. He alone, (the beloved disciple) saw an empty tomb and Scripture said he believed. He believed that the empty tomb was an action from God. From this, it is clear to us that one person's empty tomb is another's source of faith. We need faith to grasp the power of the resurrection.

Beloved in Christ, this is the day the Lord has made; the day God takes action. On Good Friday we saw the worst that evil can do and how far darkness can go. On that afternoon, when Jesus cried: "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me...", we thought God refused to act, but today, at the dawn of Easter, Jesus Christ the light of God burst the grave of death and shone in the darkness of the world and the darkness was helpless at the sight of Him. God breaks through the impossible and the impossible become possible. On the day of Easter, God acted and the power of resurrection usurped the power of death. Thank God for Easter; thank God for acting!

Let us have deep faith in our God who acts. This is the day He has made. This is the appointed time for His actions. Death cannot stand and darkness cannot prevail. Let us sing Alleluia!

When God acts, may you experience the power of the resurrection in every death and dead situation in your life and may the stone rejected by the builders become the cornerstone.

May God bless you.

- Rev. Fr. Kenneth Debre

Sunday, April 12, 2020.

Holy Rosary Parish, Hohoe.