Easter 2016
Homily
Fr O’Grady
If you were an artist and you were asked to paint a picture of Easter, what would you draw and what would come to mind?
I think I know where you would begin. Almost certainly, you would begin with light in some fashion or another. Somewhere in the picture you would show the sunrise breaking over the horizon. That’s why many churches have sunrise services. The very meaning of this day seems to be sunrise and sunlight. And so if Easter dawns as rainy or overcast..you’ll hear people say: “It just doesn’t feel like Easter. Easter is supposed to be bright and cheerful and sunny..like Good Friday should be dark and overcast. This seems to be the proper order of things.
But logical as it may seem, God’s plan for us and all mankind actually began with some type of darkness. Look at the Book of Genesis..”out of the darkness and vastness of space”. God created the Light.
Darkness is often a prelude to new life and hope.
Look at what we celebrate today as it is written, “early on the first day of the week while it was still dark, Mary Magdalen came to the tomb”. In the darkness of that Easter morning the greatest miracle and story unfolded.
In the darkness of Mary’s grief.In the darkness of the disciples’ doubt, in the darkness of persecution of Jesus and the Christians… GOD WON..GOD BROKE THROUGH DEATH AND PROMISED RESURRECTION.
Think back a few months when it was Christmas (remember the 65 degree temps on Xmas eve?) and there the ‘greatest story ever told took pace in darkness and in the night when Jesu was born. The Star that led the Magi to Bethlehem was about the only light there was. The light of the Angel greeted the shepherds in the fields with the good news.
And so Tonight (last night at the Easter Vigil we started in total darkness in the church except by the one flame on the Easter candle. The symbol is powerful.. Jesus is the one light in the darkness of our life and world.
AND THIS IS WHAT WE CELEBRATE TODAY AS CHRISTIANS. THAT NO MATER WHAT DARKNESS WE ARE IN, NO MATTER WHAT DARKNESS COVERS OUR WORLD, FAMILY LIFE OR PERSONAL LIFE.. THAT GOD BRINGS FORTH LIGHT AND HOPE!
And that EASTER is the PROMISE of that hope. Remember.. as the saying goes: HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL” ..YES FROM THE ETERNAL HAND OF GOD IN JESUS.
What is this hope?? I came across a great definition of hope and it goes like this:
HOPE IS THE EXTROARDINARY SPIRITUAL GRACE THAT GOD GIVES US TO CONTROL OUR FEARS..NOT TO DO AWAY WITH THEM”
THINK ABOUT THIS! We’ll always have fear but Hope helps us control them and not overcome us.
Hope is one of the greatest and most essential gifts we have from God in through our faith.
How would we get through life if we did not have hope?
-Hope that the darkness of this world will not last.
-A hope that no matter what illness, cancer, or sickness takes over, it will not end nor kill the eternal life of the person and soul.
-A hope that even in spite of oppressive regimes throughout the world that prohibit religious freedom that the spark of the Divine will survive
-A hope that no matter how troublesome one’s personal problems might be at home, in relationships, with family and or careers..the power of God is always greater’
A hope that tells us that even in a life of unfulfilled dreams or loneliness that runs deep…Easter hope will emerge and God’s love will embrace you.
A hope that tells us that “Nothing is impossible with God”.”With God all things are possible” and in our darkest moments for the Christian believer God is still there.
God does roll away the stone from the tomb and allows the light of hope to come in..into our lives.
This then is the true meaning of Easter which this world needs today and everyday of life.
Easter was born in darkness like our own lives but from the darkness Easter hope and light emerge.
Bu God’s grace may this light be given to all of you this Easter and above as we leave here today and face the rest of the year.. may this Easter hope be that powerful bacon to guide and direct all we do.