Homily Easter Sunday Year A He is Risen.

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Homily Easter Sunday Year A

Reading 1: Our reading today is taken from the Acts of the Apostles and not from the Old Testament. This is the proclamation of the Good News which Peter preached to Cornelius, a Gentile, who was seeking the truth. Peter gives a summation of the public ministry of Jesus beginning with his baptism in the Jordan by John. Very quickly, Peter says: Jesus was “sent by God”, “anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit”, healed “all those oppressed by the devil”, crucified but raised from the dead by God.

Peter verifies his proclamation by saying three times:  We are eye witnesses of all this. For Peter and the other disciples ate and drank with Jesus after he rose from the dead.  He continued by saying that now they have been commissioned by Jesus to preach the truth that he is the Messiah and Lord. Everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through the name of Jesus.

While Peter is preaching the Holy Spirit falls upon Cornelius and his family and they began to praise God in tongues. They truth of Peter’s testimony is confirmed by the gift of the Holy Spirit. As a result, Cornelius ask to be baptized along with his whole family.

Even though we have not seen the risen Jesus with our physical eyes, we have seen him in faith. We too have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to be his witnesses of the saving power of Jesus Christ.

Reading 2: Paul reminds the Corinthians and us that in baptism we have been freed from the bondage of sin and raised up with Jesus, sharing his divine life. Our future is to be with the risen Christ in heaven for all eternity.  Our new life is now hidden in Christ but one day the full revelation will be made known, when we too “will appear with him glory.” Our life should be one of witnessing to others.

Gospel: Our reading is taken from the Gospel of Matthew. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary had gone to the tomb where Jesus had been buried quickly on the eve of the Sabbath. They are amazed by the appearance of an angel who announces that Jesus, whom they are seeking, is risen from the dead, as he had prophesied.

They were shown the empty tomb, then told to go and witness his resurrection to the Apostles. On their way, Jesus appears to them and confirms that he is truly risen. But their mission was to witness to others what they had seen and heard.

Are we Alleluia Christians? Is our faith alive and real? Are we witnesses of the truth of the Gospel message which we heard? We are called to proclaim the Good News of God’s love to others. Jesus died to take away our sins; he rose to share his life with us; he now sends us, as he did the women, to proclaim the truth to others, to share our faith in the risen Lord. It is not enough to know and believe that Jesus has died and has risen but to complete the cycle by going and telling others.

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