Easter 2025

 Easter, April 20, 2025

Reflections for Vigil and Morning Mass 

(Image Courtesy: Google)

As Vice President, George Bush represented the U.S. at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev's widow. She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid, Brezhnev's wife performed an act of great courage and hope, a gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound acts of civil disobedience ever committed: She reached down and made the sign of the cross on her husband's chest. There in the citadel of secular, atheistic power, the wife of the man who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong. She hoped that there was another life, and that that life was best represented by Jesus who died on the cross, and that the same Jesus might yet have mercy on her husband.

Easter gives us the hope of our own Resurrection and at the same time keeps us united with the living Christ who has promised to remain with us.  The theme of today's Mass includes both proclamation and witness. 

For Brezhnev's widow, this was a day of darkness

For many, this was a week of darkness: 

Earlier this week, someone received terrible news from a physician. 

Earlier this week, someone suddenly lost his job. 

Earlier this week, someone heard the words “I don’t love you anymore.” 

Earlier this week, someone’s hope was crucified. 

And the darkness is overwhelming.

No one is ready to encounter Easter until he or she has spent time in the early morning darkness where hope cannot be seen. In such darkness, Easter is the last thing we are expecting. And that’s why Easter terrifies us. We dread the darkness — but we fear even more what is beyond it. Sometimes the darkness we know is preferable to what we don’t know — we have learned at least to function and exist in the darkness; we find a distorted solace in the fact that darkness means that nothing more can disappoint or hurt us.

Easter’s first light illuminates those dark places we have become used to; it focuses our vision and attention on what we have never seen before; it dares us to imagine possibilities beyond our limited understanding of what is possible.

Easter is not external celebrations of crackers and drums. Easter is about more hope than we can handle.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is at the very heart of Christianity.  For his disciples, it was indeed a mystery. The Easter Sunday for them was a total reversal of the image of Good Friday. His death which seemed to be a defeat before the world is now shown as a triumph, a victory over death.  His dying on the cross in reality was a passage to new life.  They were not able to comprehend the fact of Resurrection and grasp the deep inner meaning of it even though Jesus had spoken to them several times during his public life.  

However, it built up their faith particularly because of their experience of the presence of Jesus and made them persons, courageous, and ready to face any eventuality for their master.  Jesus stood among them, talked to them, ate with them, and taught them.  They were called upon to build the faith of others and we see how marvellous the living faith of the early Church was.  

In the Easter miracle, God re-creates the world. It is the night and day of the second Genesis. Death is no longer the ultimate finality but the ultimate beginning. The Christ who taught forgiveness, who pleaded for reconciliation, who handed himself over to his executioners for the sake of justice and mercy, has been raised up by God. We leave behind in the grave our sinfulness, our dark side, our selfishness, our pettiness -- the evil that mars God's first creation.

In the light of Easter morning, we realize unmistakably the depth of God’s love for us and understand the profound truth of Jesus’ Gospel of compassion, love, forgiveness, reconciliation and selflessness for the sake of others. God’s ”raising up” of his Son affirms our redemption through the power of the Gospel spirit of love; the empty tomb of Easter is the ultimate victory of the Gospel over humanity’s sad tendency toward despair, isolation, prejudice and selfishness.

The Readings: A Journey Through Salvation History

As we progress through the readings of salvation history, we reflect on our innate longing for redemption. Each passage reminds us of God’s loving covenant with His people, a thread that weaves through the stories of creation, the Exodus, the prophets, and ultimately, the resurrection. These accounts provide solace, grounding us in the belief that God’s plan for humanity has always been one of love and grace.

In the reading from Genesis, we hear of creation itself, a reminder that from chaos, God brings order and beauty. It is essential for us to reflect on our own personal creation. Each day, God invites us to renew ourselves, to rise from the ashes of our sin and despair. We may wade through doubt and suffering, yet, like Christ, we too are called to resurrection. The promise of new life is not merely an event that happened 2,000 years ago; it is an ongoing reality in our lives today.

Jesus’ resurrection is not an end but a beginning—a call to action. We are reminded that our Christian journey involves transformation and renewal. We are called to be beacons of hope and love, extending a hand to those who are downtrodden, advocating for justice in our communities, and embracing the marginalized.

In our world today—marked by division, pain, and suffering—it is more critical than ever that we embody the hope of the Risen Christ. Our mission is not merely to exist, but to live boldly, to proclaim the Gospel, and to bring the message of Easter into every corner of our lives. We learn from the first disciples, who were transformed from fearful individuals into courageous witnesses. Like them, we each carry the responsibility to share this transformative encounter with others.

As we celebrate this Easter Vigil, let us embrace our identity as pilgrims of hope. As we reconnect with the source of our faith—the resurrection of Jesus—may we commit ourselves to be light in a world of darkness, servants of love in a time of division, and bearers of hope in the face of despair. Let us walk confidently on our journey, relying on God’s grace, guided by His Spirit, and always eager to share His love with others.

May each of us, this Easter, emerge renewed in our faith, invigorated by the promise of resurrection, and empowered to be true pilgrims of hope, witnessing to the transformative power of Christ, now and always.

Happy Easter