Easter Sunday

Easter and Christmas are the very epitome of our Church’s liturgical year. The birth of our savior and his glorious resurrection into heaven are the greatest events in our Christian history.

I heard a commercial the other day where the announcer says, It‘s not a very good commercial because I don‘t remember what they were selling, but the announcer says, “If you found something this good, wouldn’t you want to tell everybody you know?” Naturally they want you to say “yes, I would”. That’s how I feel standing here today. I have found something good and I do want to tell everybody I know.

Here’s what I’ve found. It’s the ultimate reality show. It’s bigger than Survivor. It’s bigger than American Idol. It’s even bigger than The Biggest Loser. And it plays out right here, and in every Catholic Church in the world, every single Sunday. We don’t even charge you to get in. It’s called Sunday mass.

And it’s an action-packed story. Just in these last ninety days, we’ve celebrated the Feast of the Holy Family, with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph fleeing to Egypt to avoid Herod’s order that all male children be killed. Then, after Herod’s death, the family returns to Nazareth.

On January 1, we celebrated the Feast of Mary, Mother of God. We heard of the shepherd’s coming into Bethlehem to reveal what the Angel had told them about the infant Jesus.

Just five days later, we celebrated the Epiphany, the coming of the magi to do homage to the newborn king. They brought Him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Herod tried to use the visitors to find out where the child was, but a dream warned them not to return to Herod. They left town by another way.

Then we fast-forwarded to a the time when Jesus was an adult. He meets John the Baptist and asks to be baptized. John protests that he’s not worthy of baptizing the Lord, but Jesus insists and when He comes up from the water, the sky opens up, the spirit of God descends on Him and a voice from heaven says “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Over the next few weeks we heard about John the Baptist’s imprisonment, and Jesus’ calling his disciples. We’ve heard Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount where He gave us the Beatitudes.

During the last six weeks of Lent, we’ve prepared for the Lord’s death and resurrection. We’ve gone with Him into the desert, we’ve seen his transfiguration, with that same Voice from heaven telling us again, “This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.”

In His meeting with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, Jesus tells us that He’s living water. When he restores the blind man’s sight, He tells us that He’s the light of the world. Then He brings Lazarus back to life, telling us, “I am the resurrection and the life, whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”

The last seven days, Holy Week, have brought the story full circle. Last Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem in triumph. The people threw palm branches in his path shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest! Before the week was out, these same people would yell “Crucify Him!”
He was scourged, beaten, humiliated, then nailed to a cross until He died.

But, before He died, He made Himself available to us through the Eucharist. He knew that those original disciples had the advantage of His physical presence. What about us? How could we experience His Real Presence after He physically left us? He took care of that on Holy Thursday. He said, “This is My Body. This is my Blood. Do this in memory of me”.

Receiving this wonderful gift, the Real Presence of our Lord and Savior, should be more than enough of a reason to come to mass. If the Word is the cake, the Eucharist is the icing.

So, here we are on Easter Sunday, the most Glorious day of all. He’s defeated death! He’s risen from the grave! By doing that, He didn’t just save Himself but He made it possible for you and I to be saved too. He died for our sins. We don’t have to be afraid of death because we can live forever in paradise.

But, that’s not the end. It’s really just the beginning. The drama continues next Sunday, and every Sunday until the end of time. And, even though the readings repeat every three years, no two Sundays are ever the same. That’s because we’re part of the story. You and I are just as much a part of this reality show as the people we read about every Sunday.

See, Jesus knew you and me before we were ever born. The story of His life, the Greatest Story Ever Told, is our story, too. My family has been part of this parish for a long time, 33 years next month. Compared to some of you that makes us newcomers. But it’s still a third of a century. In that time we’ve seen the parish change. It’s gone through cycles. When we had a school we had lots of young families. When the school closed, a lot of them left, leaving us a more mature parish. Nowwe’re seeing more young families again.

There have been rumors about our parish closing as long as I can remember, even back when our oldest son, who’s now almost 35, started school. “Don’t send him there”, they told us, “They’re getting ready to close.“

But we’ve proved them wrong, celebrating our 60th anniversary last year. And that’s thanks to you. You’re St. Bernadette parish. Not this building. Not the grounds. You. We pray for one another when we’re sick. We comfort one another when necessary, and celebrate together whenever we can. Your presence here every Sunday is a big part of our on-going story--your presence and your participation.

Sometimes you’ll hear someone say, “I don’t get anything out of the mass.” Could it be because that person doesn’t put anything into it? C’mon. Would we go to a baseball game without at least checking the standings, maybe reading that morning’s newspaper, or going to the team’s web site to get an idea of what’s going on with the teams? When you get to the game, do you cheer the good plays? Do you stand and sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”? Or do you just sit there silently?

Would you spend your hard-earned money to go to a movie that you’ve never heard of? Wouldn’t you at least check out the ads and see what the critics have to say ? Do you get emotionally involved in the story, or are you just a silent observer, taking it all in, but not investing any of yourself into the story?

So, what about mass? Do you check ahead of time to see what the readings are? Do you come early so you can go over the readings again and ask God to help you get the most out of the mass? Or do you read the bulletin? During the mass, do you join in the songs and the prayers? If not, you’re missing something. The mass isn’t just a reality show. It’s all about audience participation.

Today is the pinnacle! This is the summit! Jesus has climbed Everest and taken us with him! But the story goes on. This early Easter means that it’s 9 months and 2 days until we celebrate Christmas. That’s a long time. We’ve seen the highlights, Now it’s time to fill in the gaps in the story, preparing for the beginning of Advent on November 30.

During the upcoming Easter season, reading mostly from John’s Gospel and from the Acts of the Apostles. We’ll follow the events that took place after Jesus’ resurrection. We’ll hear how our Church was formed and how it grew. On April 20, the 5th Sunday of Easter, we’ll hear how the Apostles chose the first deacons, one of my personal favorites. We’ll wrap up the Easter season with Christ’s Ascension into heaven. Before he leaves, He’ll tell the Apostles “Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations.”

You wouldn’t watch the first episode of Survivor to see who the players are and then not watch again until the finale to see who won. You want to see what happens every week. You want to learn who the players are. You learn about their personalities. You watch the relationships build. That’s the part that makes a reality show not just a show. The same is true of any fictional series. We want to know what makes the characters tick.

So, as we leave Church on this beautiful Easter morning, nourished by Christ’s Body and Blood, keep in mind that today is just part of the story. It’s the top of the mountain, but we didn’t just wake up here today. As Paul Harvey would say, “stay tuned for the rest of the story.” Next Sunday our second graders will receive their first communion, and my grandson will be baptized after 10:30 mass. Their stories are just beginning, and you and I each play an important part.

Like any good reality show, we don’t know how this one ends. We know that Jesus will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. We hope that when the time comes, we’re not voted off the island. We hope to be among the survivors. But only Jesus knows for sure if we’re going to meet all the challenges. The good news is that it’s not a competition. We can all win. We don’t have to outwit, outplay, or outlast anyone else. As this morning’s Gospel said, “To Him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins through His name.”

Everyone! That’s you and me. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to miss a single episode of that story.