Walk into the tomb to see that Christ is truly alive

Happy Easter!

I wish you the blessings of the Risen Christ.

In the Gospel, the disciples arrived at the tomb and they saw the stone had been rolled back. 

The stone was rolled back not so that Jesus could get out of the tomb for resurrection, but rather so that you and I could walk into the tomb and see that the lifeless Jesus was not there. He had been raised from the dead to the new life of the Father’s kingdom.

My sisters and brothers, as we celebrate this wonderful feast, we need to walk into the darkness of that tomb and to find that the Lord Jesus is not there, that he has been raised to the Father’s kingdom.

And then, walk outside of the tomb. Where do we find him? We find him in our own hearts; we find him at the eucharistic meal, particularly as we remember this Year of the Eucharist. It is the body and blood of the “Risen Christ” that we receive in Communion and that we celebrate at Mass.

Where do we find him? We find him at our family gatherings.

Where do we find this risen Christ bringing light and hope? In our joy, but also in the circumstances of the pandemic that we are still going through. That risen Christ brings light into the woundedness of our own hearts, where we have sinned and also in the burdens we bear from one day to the next, the things that are heavy in our heart or the people who make our hearts heavy. 

In all of those circumstances, it is the risen Christ who is present, who brings light and hope and offers peace.

He’s not in the tomb. He wants to make sure that we meet him in the experience of life.

That is my prayer for you during the Easter season. May you see the risen Christ, the one who brings light and hope into your life today.

God’s peace, God’s blessings to you at Easter.

Christ is risen! Alleluia!

Questions for Archbishop Aymond may be sent to [email protected].