Alleluia, Brothers and Sisters!

“If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Cor 15:14). Pope Benedict XVI stresses that these words of St. Paul explain “quite drastically what faith in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ means for the Christian message over all: it is its very foundation. The Christian faith stands or falls with the truth of the testimony that Christ is risen from the dead.”

Without faith in Jesus’ Resurrection, it would still be possible to draw a series of interesting ideas about God and man from the Christian tradition: who man is and what are his moral obligations. However, the Christian faith itself would be dead. Jesus would be just a failed religious leader, although great and inspiring. But – as the pope continues – Jesus “would then remain purely human, and his authority would extend only so far as his message is of interest to us. He would no longer be a criterion; the only criterion left would be our own judgment in selecting from his heritage what strikes us as helpful. In other words, we would be alone. Our own judgment would be the highest instance.” But fortunately for us, Jesus is truly risen and something really new occurred that changed the world and the situation of mankind. It is Jesus, our Risen Lord, not us, who becomes the criterion on which we can rely. Jesus’ Resurrection changes everything. It changes the perspective of both our earthly life and our eternal existence.

Brothers and Sisters, today we are joyfully celebrating Jesus’ Resurrection, an event that broke the rules of the world as humans knew them. Jesus, the Son of God, but at the same time a son of Adam — fully human — raised human nature to a new reality. Through his Resurrection, Jesus showed us a new perspective on our life – a life that began at the moment of our conception in our mother’s womb. In Jesus’ Resurrection, a new possibility of human existence is attained that affects everyone and that opens up a future, a new kind of future. This is why we joyfully celebrate today; this is why we sing loudly today: Alleluia!

Wishing you a grace filled and joyful Easter Sunday and Easter Season! Rejoice! Alleluia!

Fr. Mark Jurzyk