Dear brothers and sisters, Happy Easter! As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, the very reason for our hope, we can’t fail to acknowledge that we are living in challenging times in many ways. The present circumstances are times of chaos and uncertainty. So, we can feel as if the very foundations of meaning in our lives are falling apart.
In that sense, our position is not so different from that of Good Friday Peter, who underwent a crisis of faith. Faced with the tragedy of Jesus’s capture and subsequent execution, Peter’s world was turned upside down. Things were not working out as he thought they would. From his perspective, it was the end of the road and not a good one. All hope seemed lost, and danger was everywhere. This situation forced Peter not only to deny Jesus, but to deny who he was as a follower of Jesus, and even to deny his origins - his being a Galilean.
But today, listen to Peter speak! Obviously, Easter is not only the resurrection of Jesus. It is also the “resurrection” of Peter, in the sense that it gives him a reason for repentance, for personal transformation, and hope. This is true not only for Peter, but also for Mary of Magdala and all the women with her, and the other disciples. The resurrection of Jesus is also their resurrection – it becomes a turning point in their lives, in their sense of who they are, what they are to do, and how they are to hope and face the future.
The resurrection impresses upon Peter, Mary Magdalene, and the other disciples the affirmation that God is for us, not against us. In the dead of night, he rolls the stone away. From the heart of the earth, he recreates life and renews it, leaving the tomb empty and opening new pathways into the future.
Dear brothers and sisters, the resurrection of Jesus today should impress upon us the same affirmation it did for Peter, Mary Magdalene, and the other disciples. God is for us, not against us. Amidst the worries and anxieties of daily life, the message of Easter is a call to hope. In the very challenges that we face daily, God seeks to transform our lives as he transformed Peter, as he transformed Mary Magdalene. Whatever we are going through, God sees, God hears, God is present with his people as one who is faithful to his promises.
Just as he sent his Son to transform the world, he sends those transformed by the resurrection of his Son as transformers in their own right. For this reason, St. Paul says to us: “Brothers and sisters … Clear out the old yeast so that you may become a fresh batch of dough… Let us celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor 5:7-8).
What does it mean for you to become a fresh batch of dough … to celebrate the feast not with the old yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the leavened bread of sincerity and truth? Can you, like Peter, like Mary Magdalene, let God transform you from being overcome by fear and anxiety to becoming a messenger, an angel of God’s presence, God’s peace, sowing love and reconciliation where there is hatred and division, pardon where there is injury, faith where there is doubt, hope where there is despair, light where there is darkness, and joy where there is sadness? God will do it. However, you must let him do it. Happy Easter once again!