Christ reigns! Love is stronger than death!

While browsing in a local bookstore several years ago, I noticed a book on display written by a journalist who writes for the Albany Times-Union, Paul Grondahl. “These Exalted Acres” tells the story of the Albany Rural Cemetery, one of the oldest and largest in the United States. It is the resting place of many famous Americans, including one of our nation’s presidents, Chester Arthur, who was buried there in 1886.

The cemetery was used in the film version of William Kennedy’s popular novel, “Ironweed.” On those hallowed grounds thousands of our brothers and sisters sleep in death

At the center of our Gospel reading this evening is a tomb.

Early on a Sunday morning, three women, the very same women who were beneath the cross of Jesus two days earlier, go with oils to anoint the body of their master and friend. Please note the element of surprise. None of the women thought of the possibility of resurrection. They did not expect to find him alive at all.

In the creed we recite the words, “He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.”

Jesus truly died on a cross.

He really was dead

He participated in the human destiny of death.

An enormous stone blocks the entrance to the tomb of Jesus. It stands for the finality of death. When someone that we love dies, it is as though a great stone is rolled across the grave, blocking our access to him.

And that is why we weep.

But unexpectedly, the women find the tomb open. The massive stone had been rolled away.

Had his body been taken away by grave robbers?

A mysterious figure appears to them, saying, “Be not afraid. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen. He is not here. Behold the place where they have laid him.” (Mk. 16:6)

The greatest of grave robbers has been at work.

In the first reading for Easter Sunday morning, we hear the voice of Saint Luke: “They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.”

The Father raised his Son, breathing eternal life in him, as at the beginning of creation. The fact that he is no longer in the grave signifies that he is no longer dead

If Christ is not raised from the dead, Christianity is a fraud and our faith empty. We all might as well go home!

What a sensation it would cause if we were to hear on one of the cable news networks that a remedy for death had in fact been found. Scientists have been looking for such a remedy for centuries. Recall Mary Shelley’s fictional character, Doctor Victor Frankenstein, a 19th century scientist, who conducted experiments on reanimating a dead corpse.

But as Christians we truly believe a remedy has in fact been found. Death has been overcome. Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead and will die no more. What difference does the Resurrection of Christ make?

First, death is not the last word. So, it can no longer frighten us. Jesus lives. Eternal life awaits us. As he is risen, then also we shall rise.

Second, God truly exists. This is the real message of Easter. The late French philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre, an atheist, points out in his writings that, without God, life is absurd. Once we are buried, we stay in our graves. This is the end of the story. For the nihilist, we come from nothing and go back to nothing.

Third, in his Resurrection all the claims Jesus made about himself are validated. He is who he says he is. Recall his prophetic words about his death and Resurrection. No fewer than three times did Jesus speak of his impending death and the certainty of his Resurrection.

Fourth, the Resurrection is God’s response to the tyrants of the world. They claim to have an advantage over the unjustly persecuted and the defenseless. They have the power to kill them.

In his Resurrection, Jesus is vindicated. A fundamental question, which really reigns — death or life is answered. Life is victorious. Love is stronger than death.

Christ reigns!

Jews in the ancient world often visited the tombs of holy persons. Professor Joachim Jeremias, an outstanding biblical scholar of the last century, compiled a list of tombs that were already known in Jesus’ time. The tombs of the prophets Zechariah and Isaiah come to mind.

Christian pilgrims visit the tomb of Jesus at the alleged site of his burial, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and venerate it.

Unlike the tombs in the Albany Rural cemetery, it is empty.

This is the homily Father John Yanas used for Easter Sunday 2024.