Easter Sunday

Many of our most memorable stories start with, "Once upon a time."

The story I'd like to focus on today starts with, "In the beginning."

In the beginning was God - and, beyond our understanding, God is, in Himself, a relationship. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have existed for all time as a constant exchange of love. We say "God is love" because who God is, God's very identity is this total self-gift.

This love was so great, that God wanted to share it. And so He created the universe, and among the splendor of the sun, moon, and stars - among the endless of variety of living things - He created humanity.

He made these people who could love like Himself and he gave them everything they needed to live; but more importantly, they lived in a relationship with Him.

But these creatures weren't perfect, and before long, they chose themselves over God - their own desires over the complete fulfillment that comes from a relationship with God. The relationship was broken and there was nothing they could do to fix it.

God, however, wasn't finished. He had a plan to restore that communion. It started with one man, Abraham, but from him it grew to a nation. A people to whom God would reveal Himself. He'd give them laws to teach them what it meant to belong to God. Through their faithfulness and their unfaithfulness, He proved that He was not finished with humanity.

When the time was right, God did the unthinkable: He didn't establish some new laws or send another prophet - He came Himself. The Father send His Son into the world so that His creatures could meet Him, face to face.

He spoke, He taught, He healed sickness, and cast out demons. He lived a human life, but within the perfect relationship between the Father and the Son.

In hindsight, we can't see how his life could lead anywhere else but the cross. He challenged the authorities of His time; but He also challenged the heart of everyone who heard Him. Coming in contact with Jesus meant you had to make a choice - to accept what He said, and Who He said He was, or not.

We don't like that sort of challenge. And in the end, Jesus was killed.

But, amazingly, that was part of God's plan too. He took this horrific event, and made it the way to our salvation. By giving Himself on the cross, Jesus made it possible for us to share in God's life again.

That was surprising enough, but today we celebrate the real happy ending: Jesus rose again. And what's great about how John tells it in his Gospel are the details - who got to the tomb first, the fact this beloved disciple waited for Peter, how the burial cloths were arranged in the tomb - all of those details point to an eye witness testimony.

From that event, the first Christians went out to the whole world. They spread the name of Jesus - even to the point of dying for their faith. That sort of commitment only comes from a real encounter with Jesus, back from the dead.

The gospel was preached - and continues to be preached. It's now the mission of the Church, from now until the end of time, is to share that faith and to be transformed by it.

The resurrection of Jesus is the surprise ending of the story. From then on, life has triumphed over death, love has triumphed over sin. By our participation in Jesus' suffering, we also share in his victory. When we offer our suffering to God like Jesus did, we gain new life.

To say Christ is risen is to say God has reached out to humanity. He's brought us back into communion with Him. And He's given us new life.