Easter Sunday, Cycle B

Our Lenten pilgrimage closes; the Glory of Easter finally shines. The “Feast of feasts”, the “Solemnity of solemnities”, the “Great Sunday”, “Our most joyous Day”, and “the Most Glorious of all Days” comes as one author comments for the Lord has truly risen.

The very opening words of the Preface of this great solemnity herald the incomparable place of Easter: “If it is right to praise You, Lord, at all times, how much more so should we not glorify You on this day when Christ our Passover was sacrificed, for He is the true Lamb who took away the sins of the world, who by His Death destroyed our death and by His Resurrection restored our life.”

Hence, the liturgy this Sunday speaks of joy, i.e. the Joy of Easter which celebrates our freedom from the captivity of death brought about by the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of this Joy, the psalmist exclaims “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad!” And Our Father St. Augustine hails, “We are an Easter People, Alleluia is our song.” But the question now is how should we marvel at this Easter Joy. Will we just celebrate this as how the world today indulges itself in material pleasures? Will we only sing alleluia in word and only let the message of Easter Joy be heard in liturgical celebrations?

Of these queries, while some may still be lured to indulge in pleasure through the lenses of the world, a true follower of the Resurrected Christ envisages more. The Joy of Easter is far different from how a purely secular mind resonates. It is far marvelous and far beyond. The readings this Sunday are clear in teaching us the very essence of living the message of Easter Joy, which is “to preach to the people and testify…that everyone who believes in Christ will receive forgiveness of sins through his name”, and to “mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth.”

In other words, the Easter glory calls to continuously nourish our faith in Him and share it with others as one having been reconciled to God. Thus, spiritual growth is necessary. The celebration of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus is not enough if our lives are not consistent with the faith we profess. As the following line goes, Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi, or, “The law of our prayer and our belief is the law of our life”. The solemnity this Sunday reminds us of that law by our renewal of the Baptismal promises. That is why we should be committed to renewing our precious lives from our sinful ways. Let us choose to be truly set free from calumny and deceit, from spreading fake news, from destroying one another, from murder, robbery, lust, and so on. And choose to be heralds of the Easter Joy, i.e., by being hope to the hopeless, merciful, forgiving, and Loving one another following the example of our Risen Lord.

This is what “Go forth glorifying the Lord by our lives” is. This is what singing Alleluia in our lives is.