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Easter Sunday, Cycle ABC
Retreat and Conference Center
April 1, 2018
Why do you search for the living One among the dead?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
The Two Angels at the Tomb of Jesus
“Why do you search for the living One among the dead?”
This evening (morning), I think it is good for us to allow this question in today’s Gospel to be asked directly to ourselves. “Why do you or I search for the living One among the dead?”
Today is a day of great celebration for us Catholics and all Christians. We sing: “Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!” (Have assembly repeat.)
But the truth of the matter is that many of us struggle with our faith in that very fact: Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
Will we really rise from the dead? Is there a resurrection, a life after death?
Messengers of Life and Messengers of God
I would submit that one reason for this struggle with faith is that we, in fact, are “Looking for the living One among the dead” – to use the words of our Gospel passage.
Yes, we are quote, “among the dead” when cynicism holds us back from loving or when fear paralyzes us from really living. I believe we are “among the dead” when loneliness overcomes us or when prejudice blinds us to truth or goodness.
In being part of these experiences, we have, in effect, “one foot in the grave.” And it can be very difficult from that place we stand, to trust in a loving God or even believe in a risen Savior.
In the face of this, today’s Gospel tells us that some of Jesus’ friends find his tomb empty and they are bewildered and confused. And then the Gospel says, “While they were at a loss what to think of this, two men in dazzling garments appeared beside them.”
The two individuals are not identified, but our tradition sees them as messengers of God, as divine spokespersons, as angels. And these two messengers speak the key words: “Why are you looking for the living One among the dead?”
I would like to suggest that you and I, right from within our everyday lives, have similar messengers of God, similar divine spokespersons, similar angels.
Yes, we might very well have individuals who steer us away from “looking for the living One among the dead” and actually take us to the places and experiences where we can find “the living One.”
Angel of Trust
I would like to suggest that most of us have an angel of trust in our lives.
For example, a mother instinctively reassures her frightened little boy when he wakes up in the middle of the night from a bad dream. She says, “Everything’s going to be all right” as she holds him close and he smells her scent, feels the warmth of her embrace.
Is she lying? Or naïve? Or is she expressing a profound truth about the ultimate goodness of life?
Is she not instinctively saying what Jesus himself believed as he commended his life to the Father on the cross? Today is the day to remember your angel of trust.
See if that divine messenger doesn’t also reassure you that everything’s going to be all right. And see if that assurance doesn’t lead you to sing today with trust: “Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!” (Have assembly repeat.)
Angel of Hope
I think that most of us also have an angel of hope in our lives.
We see this angel in someone refuses to get down in the dumps, no matter what. As a priest, I have seen this with people who are sick and even actively dying.
Yes, there are people who refuse to give in to their sadness and are able to see even their illness as leading to something greater, in some way to greater life.
Today name the angel of hope in your life.
See if that divine messenger does not call forth the very best in you. And see if that leads you to say today with hope: “Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!” (Have assembly repeat.)
Conclusion
Two individuals in the lives of those first believers in Jesus’ resurrection — bewildered, fearful, and despondent, they are asked, “Why look for the living among the dead?”
Reflecting on that question, they come to a new sense of trust and hope
That same question is asked of us today
And to answer it, God places messengers of trust and hope squarely in the middle of our lives
They too can restore our sanity and help us proclaim with a new sense of trust and hope, “Christ is risen; Christ has risen indeed!”
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