Resurrection is for real.

The risen Christ appeared to his disciples many times.

Jesus wanted to assure his disciples that resurrection is for real. More than words, Jesus showed them his wounded hands, his wounded feet. Jesus showed them his pierced side. Jesus ate with them. Jesus wanted them to touch him, to touch his body scarred by the crucifixion. The risen Lord is the crucified Lord. Resurrection is more than news. It is not rumor. Resurrection is  for real.  Our God is a living God.

And so we ask ourselves:

How real is resurrection for us today? How do we see resurrection? Are we able to touch resurrection?

I know of a parish volunteer who lost both of her parents in a span of two years. While mourning for the loss of her parents, she was diagnosed with cancer. She had to undergo chemotherapy. And as if this is not enough, while undergoing chemo, their house got burned. What a tragedy? I could have understood her if she began to question God, to question her faith. I could have understood her if she asked for a leave in her parish work. Mag-lay low muna. Hindi muna magserve. Maglaan muna ng panahon para sa sarili.

But, no, I never heard her complain. I never heard her question God. She never stopped serving the parish, spending time in prayer and offering her time to help the needy. Every time I asked her how is everything she would always say: May awa ang Diyos, Father.

Resurrection is our refusal to give in to despair and hopelessness even when we are faced with burdens that seem too heavy to carry. Resurrection is our rejection of cynicism, negativity and bitterness even when illness, loss and separation beset us. Resurrection is our continued trust in goodness and grace even when things happen not according to our plans and expectations. Resurrection is our persistence to remain warm, kind and hospitable even when we have a just cause for hatred.

The living God is for real. Resurrection is for real. Look at your heart. Look at your life. Do you see resurrection?

Resurrection and Forgiveness

Second Sunday of Easter

"On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst..."

The disciples were gathered in fear. The gospel tells us that they were afraid of the Jews. They were afraid that the Jews might do to them what they did to Jesus.

But it is also possible that part of that fear is the memory of what they did while Jesus was undergoing his passion. Remember when Jesus was arrested in Gethsemane, the disciples fled in fear. They left Jesus on his own. They deserted him. Peter even denied Jesus three times. Only a handful remained at the foot of the cross. The disciples abandoned Jesus.

In the midst of this fear, the risen Christ appeared to his disciples. The abandoned one returned to those who abandoned him. And his first words were,"Peace be with you." These are words of forgiveness; words of reconciliation. Three times Jesus assured his disciples of his great mercy and understanding. Not only that, after offering reconciliation, Jesus sent them into mission: "As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

Tanong ko sa sarili ko, Hindi pa ba natutuo si Jesus?
Ito ang mga alagad na ginabayan niya ng tatlong taon. Tinuruan. Pinangaralan. Mga alagad na itinuring niyang malalapit na kaibigan. Pero kahit ganun, iniwan pa rin siya. Itinatwa. Nilayuan. Hindi lubos ang kanilang paniniwala at pananalig sa kanya. Sila pa rin ang isusugo? Hindi ba magandang humanap na lang ng ibang mga alagad?

Jesus chose not to give up on his disciples. Jesus, the abandoned one is also the faithful one. Jesus knew that his forgiveness and his resurrection are enough to change them.

The Lord will not give up on us. He reminds us that his forgiveness and his resurrection are enough to change us. They are enough to inspire and sustain us. They are enough to transcend our weaknesses, to conquer our doubts, and make us believe and serve him until the end.

The Lord chose not to give up on us. Please do not give up on your family, on your love ones. Please do not give up on our country. Please do not give up on yourself.

The grace of the risen Christ is the grace of hope. Things may not be as we want them today. But the living God enables us to hope that in his time all things will become well according to his benevolent will.

Easter changes everything.

 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.