D2y1pz2y630308.cloudfront.net



Easter Sunday; The Resurrection of the LordApril 21, 201911:30 a.m.St. Augustine CathedralAs we gather together in our beautifully-decorated Cathedral Church on this Glorious Easter morning, I, along with all the priests and deacons of our Cathedral Parish, wish you a very Happy Easter! We all know that it was a long and arduous Winter, and Spring is finally here. But it feels like Nature itself waited until this Easter weekend to begin beautifying our world with the flowering trees, daffodils, and other Spring flowers that are coming alive. Easter is truly a day of New Life, and new beginnings. And this year, as we join with all our fellow Christians throughout the world in celebrating this, the greatest Feast of our Christian/Catholic Faith, we also are able to share in the joy of our Jewish sisters and brothers who are celebrating this most holy time of Passover. Sadly, this Easter morning has been marred by the tragic news of the multiple bombings of churches in Sri Lanka during Easter Sunday Masses, killing close to 200 people and injuring/traumatizing hundreds of others. That act of violence is as despicable as it gets, and our hearts go out to everyone in that country; we pray that all the dead are already joined with the Risen Lord; and we pray that all the survivors may let the Peace of Christ fill their hearts, even during this traumatic experience, and to not allow this Evil to distract them from the much more significant and bigger story of what Easter is all about.I think it’s safe to say that we all love a good story. Are there any more favorite words than: “Once upon a time….” or “Let me tell you a story.” When we hear those words, we tend to sit forward, and wait with anticipation to see what the story might be. It could be one of our favorite “fairy tales”; it could be one of the block-buster new movies, like the “Avengers” or “Star Wars” that tells of fantastic, science-fiction escapades---stories of make-believe. Or perhaps we might be enthralled by the real-life stories of what it was like for our parents when they were children, or getting to know the life story of a new friend, or a person with whom you might be falling in love. Or what about the Tiger Woods story; whether you are a golfer or not, seeing him win the “Masters Tournament” a week ago today, and that moment of absolute joy when he knew he had finally won after more than 10 years of suffering and defeat, was quite amazing for all the world. One commentator even used the word that we hold so sacred, especially in these days: “that’s a true redemption story.”That’s the way we human beings are---we love to hear stories. I have no doubt that’s why Jesus so masterfully used Parables as His way to teach the most profound of Truths about God’s Love, Mercy, and Faithfulness.Really, when we stop and think about it, the entire Bible is one, major, real-life Story about God’s Covenant of Love that He has made with us, His beloved people. He began with Abraham, and then Moses, and all the Patriarchs and Prophets, assuring us that, despite how many times we human beings have turned away from God, He would never turn away from us; that He would love us faithfully. And still we, human beings, continued to turn away from God. And so, in the fullness of time, God made the ultimate decision to send us His only-begotten Son---His Word made Flesh---the “fullness of the Story of God’s Love” wrapped up in the human flesh of the fully-Divine/fully-Human Person, Jesus. But no!--- we human beings rejected even this greatest of all Gifts of God, and we turned His Love Story into a Story of Death, killing the “Author of Life”.One would think that would have been the end---a tragic ending at that. What we do here this morning is to celebrate the greatest “surprise ending” anyone could imagine. Death on a Cross and Burial in a Tomb were not the end for Jesus, but a doorway which God’s Holy Spirit opened into a whole New Life.Last night, during the great Easter Vigil, this Cathedral was in total darkness when the New Fire was lit, and from that Fire, this Paschal Candle, carried throughout the Cathedral, proclaiming “Christ our Light”, and spreading that Light to the candles of all gathered here, which turned darkness into a glorious and soothing Light. And this Brilliant Light, which dispels the darkness in this Church, symbolizes Jesus, the Light, Who dispels the darkness of fear, of doubt, and most of all, the darkness caused by sin, and ignites in our hearts a Flame of Faith that, we pray, will never be extinguished.With the celebration of Easter, we complete a journey that we began 40 days ago on Ash Wednesday. During these 6 weeks, I hope, we have made copnscious efforts to turn away from sin and to be faithful to the Gospel; to be faithful to our part of the Covenant God has established with us. There are hundreds of us gathered together here to celebrate this glorious Easter Day, but each of us has our own particular life story, about who we are, what our particular life experiences are, what’s important to us, what our hopes and dreams are. As people of Faith, each of us also has our own particular “Faith Story” that we could tell. It would be interesting to hear one another share those stories, wouldn’t it?But even more importantly, each of us needs to make sure that we are telling God about our “faith stories”. As important as it is for US to listen to God’s Story about His incredible, faithful, and unconditional Love for us, the fullness of which is what we are celebrating on this Easter Day, we need to tell God OUR story: how have we come to this point in our lives?---how deep is our faith in and love for our God Who loves us so much?---where have we been successful in our Faith lives; where have we struggled, or even failed? God speaks His Word to humanity, but God also speaks His Word directly to each of us, wherever we are, and at whatever point we are in our own life story. Some people hear God early in their life story; for some others, it takes a bit longer. We’ve all lived through many Lenten Seasons; I pray that THIS Lenten Season has brought you to the point that you can hear God speaking to your heart clearly, and that everything we have been celebrating these last 3 days deepens your own faith. Please make some time today, or sometime soon, to tell God what is in your heart at this very point along your Journey of Faith, and ask Him to be with you, to lead you, to guide you, to encourage you, to forgive you when you go off on a detour, to bring you safely Home when your time in this world is completed.We’ll all be able to do that in a very tangible way in just a few moments. Today, instead of reciting our Creed, we will be asked to renew our Baptismal Promises. That’s perfect, because we know that our Faith is about more than giving assent to a whole list of Teachings---Faith is MORE than a Creed; Faith is also about “Promises”, made, and sometimes broken, which need to be renewed. I hope our response of “I Do” to the list of questions I will ask will be more than automatic; may they be heart-felt promises to REJECT Evil and the very strong power of the Devil in our lives, and to CHOOSE to live in the exponentially stronger Love of God for us, and our Promise to love Jesus by Loving one another; to renew our commitment to live our lives as People of Faith, despite all the societal pressures that are exerted on us every day to do otherwise. It’s important for us to realize that Faith did not come easily or automatically to those first disciples of Jesus or the Apostles themselves. As we heard in this morning’s Gospel, St. Luke told us that the holy women went to anoint Jesus’ dead Body, only to find the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. St. Luke tells us that they were “puzzled” and “terrified”; he tells us that the “two men in dazzling garments” (Angels) appeared and asked them a very important question: “Why are you looking for the Living One among the dead; He is not here; He has been raised. Remember what He told you.” They, of course, “remembered Jesus’ words” though they hadn’t understood what He meant at the time, and “they returned” and “announced all these things to the Eleven”, who thought that their “story seemed like nonsense”. St. Luke told us that one of them, “Peter, got up and ran to the tomb, bent down, and saw the empty burial cloths”, and that “he went home amazed”. But where’s the Joy? Where are the Alleluia’s? Where’s the Faith and the Hope? They’re not there---not yet! They can’t comprehend because this “story” has never been told. Eventually, they would “get it”. But, for now, they needed time. The appearances of the Risen Jesus over the next 40 days would deepen their Faith in Him, and they would then be ready to take up the mission which, when Jesus Ascends into Heaven, He commissions them, and all of us who are His followers, to embrace:---to be Joyful Witnesses of this life-changing Good News of the Risen Jesus, and His Story of the Power of Love that is stronger than sin and death. To one degree or another, their Story is our Story of Faith as well. With Lent completed and the 50 days of Easter beginning, with “Alleluias” resounding and with Joy in our hearts, let us not seek the Living One among the dead, but let us continue composing our own unique and special life stories, rooted in the conviction of what we celebrate on this truly Glorious Easter Sunday: “Jesus is Risen; He is Risen indeed”; may He be our Light, our Hope and our Salvation! ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download