Jn 20:1-9 Get Out Of Here

The Mass of Easter Sunday
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Simon Peter...arrived at the tomb...and entered. The other disciple also went in...[H]e saw and believed.

Do you believe it???  Do you know what this means??? 

1.  IT'S ALL TRUE. 
It means it's true.  It's all true.  Jesus is not a liar or a lunatic.  He's the Lord!  He is Truth.  Everything He said and did is the truth!  He really is the Son of God.  He really is the Savior of the world.  He is the first and the last, the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end.  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"  (cf. Jn 1:1).

It's true!  His resurrection is His Father's stamp of approval.  Christ is the beloved Son of the Father.  He is the Word made flesh.  He is the Shepherd and we are His sheep.  He is all He claimed to be.  His forgiveness isn't just beautiful, it's true.  His mercy isn't just incomprehensible, it's true. 

Life does not end with death.  It's simply a new beginning.  Do not be afraid.  We have nothing to fear. 

The Resurrection of our Lord is physical evidence that love is truly more powerful than death.  And that love not only bears all things, believes all things, endures all things and hopes all things, but that love conquers all things, even death on a Cross.

It's true: what goes up must come down.  But it is equally true that what goes down can bounce back up.  Christ went down and came right back up. The conditions of our Lord's resurrection were met: He loved unconditionally!  The Lord was true to himself. He loved.  He forgave.  He gave.  He rose. 
   
2.  IT'S ALL WORTH IT.
It's worth it.  It's all worth it.  Everything Jesus said and did is worth it!  All the sacrifices.  All the prayers.  All the tears.  All the pain.  All the suffering.  It's worth it.  It's all good.  It's all very pleasing in the sight of the Father. 

The resurrection is not a prize.  It's the obvious conclusion to loving your enemies and doing good to those who persecute you.  It's confirmation that it is better to give than to receive and the last shall be first and the first shall be last.

It's worth forgiving one's enemies.  It's not worth holding grudges.  It's worth doing good to those who hurt you.  It's not worth seeking revenge.  It's worth every once of strength to forgive seven times seventy times and seek forgiveness.  It's not crazy at all to lay down your life for a friend and even an enemy.  

"Blessed are the meek..."  "Blessed are the peacemakers..."  "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord."  I'm not a dreamer. I'm a Christian.

Christ's resurrection means it's all worth it.  But that's not all.  It also means we are worth it. We are worth every single drop of his blood, every thorn in his crown, every stripe on his back, every valley he descended and every mountain he clombed, every fall he took, every nail through his flesh, every bit of ridicule, scorn and disgust he endured.  We are worth it.

Oh my Lord!  I'm more important than I think.  Why? Because Christ's death and resurrection happened for me.  My life is worth living even when racked in pain and cut short.

3.  I NEED TO FOLLOW HIM.   
"O death, where is thy victory?  O death, where is thy sting?" (1Cor 15:55).  Death is not the worst thing that could happen to us; dying on the wrong side is.  That is the worst thing that could ever happen to us! 

Christ's victory over death is the victory of a certain way of life.  The two go together.  I need to get it together, with Him.

I need to follow Him.  I need to imitate Him.  Come what may,"the Lord is my rock and my salvation."  He is the Good Shepherd, the Good Samaritan.  He is what is Good. 

"He is the Way, the Truth and the Life."  "He is the Resurrection and the Life." 

I need to sell what I have.  I need to go out and purchase the land with the hidden pearl.  I need to proclaim the Good News to all those who are prisoners to sin. 

I owe the Lord BIG TIME.

4.  ALL IS NEVER LOST.
I have something to share with others; something that is worth more than anything else.  It's a simple message.  It originated with Christ and travels to us through countless personal experiences:  No one is lost in Christ.  No one.

See for yourself.  Enter the tomb.  All is not lost.  Life has been found!  The empty tomb gives meaning to all life.  It turns it right side up.  It gives a twist to life and even death.  Life is not square.  It is an adventure.  Just when we think it is over, it's not.  The empty tomb should drive our every decision, twist our hands and feet and define our lives.  The empty tomb is our compass to life.

When we were lost and could not find our way, you gave us your empty tomb.

After Christ's death and before his resurrection, the Apostles were scattered.  They were lost.  They didn't know what to think or do.  Their faith in Christ was nearly shattered.  They were like sheep without a Shepherd, and so they returned to where it all began:  Galilee. 

"If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain" (cf. 1Cor 15:14).

The resurrection has given me a faith, a hope and a love that must be shared with others:  neighbors, friends and enemies.  It is a faith, hope and love they have not experienced and that we have barely scratched the surface in comprehending.  We must share it, because we can easily forget it, especially during trials and sin.  

Christ has risen.  What does this mean?  It means my life has been turned upside down, which really means right side up.

It's time to start flipping some lives around.

Happy Easter!


P.S.  If you're having a hard time believing in the resurrection, then try this: try living what Christ preached.  I am sure you will end up seeing what the disciples saw:  an empty tomb. 

There are many ways to the Son of God.  You don't have to start with his greatest miracle, the resurrection.  Start with His Words. 

Christians are known for being very bouncy.  We all know that what goes up must come down, right?  But Christians also know that what went down a few days ago just came back to life.  You don't have to start with the loftiness of the resurrection.  Start with His Way of Life. 

If you start with Christ's humanity, I am sure you will bounce to His divinity.