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Easter Sunday Year C - 27/3/2016 - Gospel: Jn 20:1-9
Life and death
Some people know only two undeniable realities of life and that are life and death. For them there is nothing existed before life and apart from loss and misery there is nothing that remains after death. This kind of pessimistic belief somehow limits a human life in a vacuum because it makes us feel that we live for nothing. Some lives are pitiable and human wisdom is powerless when we face this reality. It is a broken heart for a mother to hear the sad news that her baby would have never seen sunrise. These innocents have had no personal experience of both life and death. Life is not rosy all the time as we all experience, for some who unfortunately contract an incurable disease or some are born in a war torn country and the marginalized and the voiceless. If there is nothing existed before and after death then life has no hope and it is rather hard to rectify when a human life begins- before or after birth?

We, Christians, live not for ourselves but for others and when we die we don't die alone. With faith in Jesus our lives are sure safer and secured in the hands of God. Whatever happens to us, God would never leave us alone but comes to our rescue. We shelter in His loving kindness and mercy. Life is a part of God's creation Who creates and sustains life. Death comes not from God but from Satan. Death enters the human life by a back door. It is the result of disobedience which is associated to Satan and evil spirits. God creates life and resurrection; Satan creates sin and death.

Resurrection was not in God's original plan of creation. It arrived after when the human race committed sin. Resurrection is born out of God's love for the human race. Jesus made the rescue mission to save us from eternal damnation. It is the power of God Who defeated the force of evil and destroyed death forever. Through disobedience Satan inflicted death and misery on the human race; through the obedience of Jesus who destroyed forever what Satan has mastered to enslave and imprison those who follow them. The resurrection of Christ confirms that God's love is much more powerful than death and those who were being mistreated in the hands of their fellowmen would become victims no more but be elevated to God's glory and enjoyed life to the full. The resurrection of Christ changed and renewed every good thing in Him, first the human lives and extended to the rest of the universe.  The resurrection of Jesus affirms that our loving God exists before life and death is a passing phase to enter eternal life.

I would like to thank those who have visited our Church services during the Holy Week. I extend our thanks to all parishioners who have contributed in different ways to make the Holy Week celebrations become so meaningful and relevant to reality of life. Your hard works and prayerful dedication have touched deeply the lives and hearts of us all. I thank the children and their leaders and parents for supporting the children for re-enactment the Passion of Christ on Good Friday that brought tears to our eyes. Christ has risen and it is a time for us to celebrate with joy and renew our hope in Christ.

Happy Easter!

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