Gospel of Mark, chapter 16:6

We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and with Jesus the resurrection of all who believe in Him. We have risen from the dead, so to speak, because Jesus had freed us from death to sin. Death to sin is a more unspeakable death than death of the body. Death to sin is spiritual death; it is enslavement to base passions and desires; it is entrapment in a world of evil, prejudice, malice, viciousness and selfishness.

We have been set free of those chains that weigh us down by Jesus who rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. What a reason for giving thanks to God for such a blessed gift!

The Easter message is the good news that Jesus preached while He walked the earth. Accept the Gospel, work with grace and not against grace, and you will be free! But, the Bible tells us that God created nature, including human nature, and that is was good. The Bible also tells us that human nature without grace is faulty. Not that the world we live in or the people we live with are bad, but the world and the people in it are not fulfilled without the grace of God which alone can protect us and our world from the poisonous influences of sin.

The Resurrection shows what can happen when people give God a chance. God can raise us up if we work with His grace. He can raise us up right now, give us new life, help us to fight selfishness, make us whole, and fill us with joy.

This is what the Resurrection is all about. Be glad that you can rise in the morning to a bright new day. Be happy that you have friends who are tried and true. Be thankful that God’s grace is at work urging our community to greater generosity. Cast aside jealousy, pettiness, vindictiveness, deceit, double dealing, and all forms of nastiness. These base instincts have no place in the lives of Christians. Break forth in freedom and inner song for Jesus, our savior, has risen. Alleluia!

Fr. Hugh Duffy