Today we are commemorating a unique event, unparalleled in history. Nothing like this has ever been heard before Christ or after Christ. Lazarus was raised by Christ from the dead but he died again. Christ rose from the dead to die no more. He has risen from the world of the dead, with unearthly splendor and glory. Today we celebrate the triumph of life over death, hope over despair, light over darkness, goodness over evil.
Our Blessed Lord has conquered death; now he reigns in glory. He has redeemed us by paying his own blood as the price. He became obedient unto death; therefore, the heavenly Father raised Him from the dead and gave Him a name above every other name. He is the grain of wheat that fell on the ground in order to give existence to thousands and thousands of grains.
Jesus had declared: “By my own will I lay down my life, and by my own will I will take it up again.†And today we see him breaking the shackles of death and rising as the victor king. Thus tragedy has been turned into triumph, sorrow into joy.
Is it not foolish to appoint guards at the tomb lest the dead person should escape? Yet that was what the Jewish leaders did. It is apparent that the enemies of Jesus remembered that he whom they had killed had predicted He would rise again, and so they tried to preclude that while His own friends and disciples were not mindful of his prediction. Mary Magdalene came early in the morning, not to see the Risen Lord, but to offer spices and ointments at his tomb. She also wept thinking that it was stolen. She never thought that He was risen.
We believe and know that Christ is risen. Saint Paul says, “If Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching; empty, too, your faith†(1 Cor 15:14). Saint Paul also wrote to the Romans that we who have received baptism in Christ, then we have also risen with Christ and will enter into the newness of life. If we died to sin and live in righteousness, we too shall rise like him in splendor and glory.
We certainly rejoice in the Lord’s triumph over death. Let the “ALLELUIAS†that resound in the Church today be an echo of the eternal song of praise that goes on in heaven and resounds in our hearts. Was not the Lord who said, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will build it?†He did exactly as he said. Conquering sins and death He rose on the third day. This is the fountain of our faith and the mystery of our salvation. If we follow faithfully in the footsteps of our Lord, we also will reach the glorious resurrection. The resurrection of Christ is the guarantee of our resurrection. This hope should encourage us to live a true and sincere Christian life. We should die to our sins of pride, hatred, selfishness, and dishonesty; and evil desires should not find any place in us anymore.
Let us also enter into a new life with Christ. Let us take up our crosses and follow Christ that has shown to us that the way of the cross is not the way of death, it ends not on Calvary but in the resurrection and eternal life. The example of Christ who sacrificed His life and the altar of self-denial encourage us to be ready to suffer in serving our own fellow men and women. Easter reminds us that death is not the end. For the one who lives in Christ, death has no terrors. For him or her, to die is gain because death is the beginning of eternal life.