REJOICE AND BE GLAD FOR YOU ARE RISEN FROM THE GRAVE. (Homily for March 27, 2016. Easter Sunday Mass During the Day.)


Bible Study: Acts 10, 34 to 43. Colossians 3, 1 to 4 and John 20, 1 to 9.


Today is a day for pure joy! Today is a day that even the Angels and the millions of Saints in heaven will not rest for joy for behold Christ has defeated the power of death. By dying, Christ has destroyed death for ever. So we rejoice and we dance for Christ by rising has shown us that in the end, darkness can never overpower light, that in the end, God has the final say. When the devil thought he had succeeded in making people laugh and mock Jesus, little did he know that that which was an object of laughter would in the end become and object of glory. The joy of this day is a joy that not only accounts for, but even doubles for the sorrow we felt in our hearts on Good Friday.

Rejoice and be glad. Dance and Sing for joy for Christ your Redeemer has risen from the dead. Why do we have to rejoice? Is it simply because lent is over? Of course, finally, lent is over! No more Stations of the Cross, no more shouting “Amen” instead of “Alleluia,” no more trying to select which chorus to sing that does not contain “Alleluia”, no more long faces as a result of prolonged hunger, no more of whatever we decided to put up with was our form of Lenten mortification. Christ is no longer veiled, the altar is no longer bare but fully exposed and beautifully decorated. Are these not enough to cause us to rejoice, to dance and just be happy? Yes! We should be happy because lent is over and we will not have to go through it again as far as this year is concerned.

But then, wait oh! If the only reason why we are rejoicing is because Lent is over, then we are not getting the full package of joy. The joy of Easter is more than the joy of having to eat, eat and eat like little children who have not seen food for many days now. Yes, the Joy of Easter is more than just having to return back to all those bad habits and dirty things for which we resolved to cast behind us during lent. The true joy of Easter is the joy of having to rise with Christ such that even though we are still inside our flesh, we can beat our chest and say, “When Christ died, I too died with him, now that He is risen, I am now a new creature! The bad bad things I used to do before, I do them no more! The bad bad places I used to go before, I go there no more! The lifestyle of sin I used to live before, I live it no more!”

This is the real joy of Easter. The joy of becoming completely new people. The joy of knowing that in the course of the last 40days, I have been able to drop my vices and I have picked up new virtues. My true joy is that Satan can no longer use me to boast anymore, that I can gladly say that I am now a child of God and when the agents of darkness come near me, my very shadow will send them flying away in all directions. My true joy is that I will no longer return to the life I used to live before lent began this year. This is why we dance and bubble today.

Of course, If I have not been taking my Lenten observances seriously, then poor me! If I have not been able to use the period of grace and the three keys of lent; prayer, fasting and abstinence as well as almsgiving to my greatest advantage. If I have not been faithful to the Stations of the Cross and mediating on every line in it. If in the last 40 days, I have only increased in my sinful habits and grown worse in my relationship with God, then pity me. It means that I have failed and that I have no real reason to rejoice today. if the only thing that will change in my life today is that I will eat plenty meat, drink alcohol and pounded yam, then I am much to be pitied because my Easter will just end in the toilet a few hours from now. If I am planning on how to pick up my old sins after now, then there was no point staying away from them in the first place.

St. Paul describes perfectly the whole essence of this Easter joy when he stated: “So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory,” Colossians 3, 1 to 4.

The joy of Easter is that we are no longer earthly minded:

that we are not struggling for space with Barabbas who became popular for evil;

that we are not trying to make money like Judas Iscariot who sold his master for 30 silver coins;

that we are not ashamed of defending our faith even before a small child like Peter who was so scared for his life but that same Peter preached today’s first reading boldly;

that we are going to tell lies anymore like the Chief Priests who knew very well that Jesus was innocent but wanted him dead out of jealousy;

that we are not going to be power-conscious like Pilate who for fear of losing favour with Caesar asked that Jesus be crucified;

that we are not going to base our faith on signs and wonders like the people who wanted Jesus to jump down from the cross so that they would believe;

that we are no longer going to go about with grudges in our hearts but instead forgive like Jesus did on the Cross when he said: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

This is why we should celebrate Easter. Yes, rejoice and be glad for you are risen from the grave!

Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, may my Easter joy not be limited to just food and drink but based on my new life in you henceforth. Give me power to rise from the grave of sin and compulsion to bad habits. Help me to fix my mind on the things that are above and no longer or those below. Amen.


God bless you. Good evening. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. Happy Easter once Again.!

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