Easter changes everything.
Easter changed Mary Magdalene.
She was one of the women followers of Jesus. She waited on him. But Easter made her the resurrection's messenger just as we heard in the gospel today.
Easter changed Peter.
He was just an ordinary fisherman who always got in trouble because of his impulsiveness. The first reading reveals how convinced he has become in his faith in the Risen Christ.
Easter changed Paul.
He hated Christians. He persecuted them. The second reading today reveals to us how Paul was changed by his vision of the risen Christ. He became a zealous follower himself. He preached to the pagans and built communities around the Lord.
Easter changed suffering.
Trials and difficulties do not necessarily mean the absence of God. We may be afflicted in every way, but we do not lose faith. We may be confused, but not hopeless. We may be persecuted, but not abandoned. We may be struck down, but we do not give in to despair. In the resurrection of Jesus, suffering can only make us stronger, more mature, more closer to God.
Easter changed death.
A Christian is no longer slave to the clutches of death. It does not have the last say. It is not anymore the end. It has become a doorway into everlasting life.
Jesus is alive, and he changes everything!
Life is no longer defined by what this world can give and offer, or by what we know and understand. No. In the resurrection of Jesus, life opened up to embrace eternity and take in the mystery of the Divine.
The story of the resurection is not fiction.
This is not a myth or a story made up to inspire us or to give us hope.
Resurrection is truth.
Hindi ito chismis.
Hindi ito kuwentong barbero.
Jesus is truly risen!
He is alive here and now.
This is the truth of easter and this truth changes everything.
Will this Easter change anything... in our community?
Will this Easter change anything... in you?
Amen.
