Like Singing an "Alleluia" at a Funeral Mass (Easter Homily 2020)

Happy Easter!  Well, sort of.  

Holy Week and Easter 2020 will definitely be in the history books.  It's a time like no other, at least so far.  To all of my parishioners:  I miss seeing you, more than you could ever imagine!  All the daily communicants, the confessions after daily Mass . . . I miss them all.  To those viewing on live stream: Welcome!  From the curiosity seekers to those who deeply hunger spiritually for what has been taken away . . .   

Since these are such unusual times, it calls for a different homily message this Easter.  

I think God is indeed trying to get our attention.  Realize God sees all things, He knows all things, and is ultimately in control of all things.  In His permissive will, He has allowed this to happen, all of it.  Much of the world as we know it has come to a screeching halt.  Stop everything!  Alter your routines!  The children are all now schooled at home.  The family, the domestic church, is once again united and not running off to baseball practice or to dance lessons or to the latest social activity.  We are "quarantined."  

Now that we have a "quarantined" Easter Sunday, we have no public Masses, no communion for all. We can watch Mass on TV or from some live stream such as this one.  What does it remind me of?  Something is a bit out of sync; something's just not right.  When I was thinking about it, to me, it seemed like an Alleluia being sung at the funeral Mass.   

At the funeral Mass, the entire congregation mourns and feels the separation and the loss of their loved one.  Remember even Jesus, the Son of God, wept at the death of His friend Lazarus.  Meanwhile, we are singing, or at least listening to, a joyful Alleluia contrary to the emotions that we may be experiencing at the time.  The "Alleluia," Father, reminds us of resurrection and of joy!  But that's not necessarily what I may be feeling right now!  I may be feeling pain, loss, suffering, sadness, separation, etc., etc.   However, the Alleluia is still being sung.  

I realize we are all in different places in our spiritual journey, either heading towards or sadly moving away from God.  I have to ask you all for some introspection: Where am I on that spiritual journey?  Where am I on that spectrum?  

Someone may be caught up in sin right now. Addiction. Hardness of heart. I don't really care! I'm totally oblivious to my surroundings. I am my world and my world is me!  Sin has a hold on me and I'm not letting go, not letting go!  That may be one end of the spectrum, perhaps.  

Then, moving along you'll hit the mere spectator, or the observer:  watching what's going on . . . looking from a distance . . . not getting involved.  Just watching; taking the safe course.  

Let's move down the spectrum a little bit.  Someone may indeed realize that something's just not right.  There is craziness in the world right now.  But he or she doesn't know what to do, doesn't know where to turn to next.  

Let's take it all the way to the end of our spectrum.  To those people who are serious about life, and their faith, and eternal life.  And they realize now: What am I missing?  There's an absolute void in my life!  I have no sacraments!  I have no Eucharist, no penance, no sacraments on a regular basis!  I had somebody come up to me like that in the past week and say, "Father, I've been a daily communicant for 30 years, now I can't go to Communion."  Thirty years of wanting the Lord every day.  Imagine the pain, the absence, the void that's present in that person.  

We are all in different spiritual places, I'm sure.  Those who are part of the parish, those who are watching live stream, I ask collectively:  where are we on that spectrum?  We are looking for answers. We're looking for hope.  And I say this:  Hope comes from one particular place. Rather, one particular person.  Hope comes in the person of Jesus Christ, the Word made Flesh for us!

God who descended to our humanity, who lived everyday like we live, but without sin, was here on this earth for us.  Here on this earth to do what?  To have a good time?  No!  In the end, His purpose was to die.  His purpose was to take our sins upon himself, and to die for us, most unjustly!  He was to die for you and for me, on that cross.  

I'm sure His disciples were devastated.  Think about what happened to them.  Peter denied him.  "I don't even know the man."  The rest of the disciples fled.  Judas hanged himself in despair.  Look what happened to them.  They were His closest companions.  Imagine how they were devastated when He died on the cross.  

Then we have all of us, the rest of us here in this world.  How do we react to what happened to Christ?  Do we see what He did for us?  Do we understand?  Do we take it seriously enough?  Do we know this was done on my behalf?  This beautiful mural of the crucifixion (behind me) looks down on us in the middle of our Sanctuary.  I am reminded every day when I look at it:  this is what was done for you and for me!  

And now, today, we celebrate while pondering the empty tomb.  Jesus IS Risen!  He Is Not There!   He IS Risen!  

Again, we can have various reactions today.  People may say:  "I doubt it!"  "I don't believe it!"  "It’s a lie!"  NO--it's the Truth!  Because He is the Truth!  He rose from the dead.  He conquered sin.  He conquered death.  He Lives!  He has done all of that.  He has done His part!  

But, us, we're not there yet.  That's how we're somehow out of sync.  We haven't gone there.  We're not enjoying eternal life.   We're not in Heaven.   We're what they used to call, (or still should call) the "church militant."  We're fighting battles, spiritual battles in this world.  We have to realize God wants us for Himself, God calls us to Himself.  That's the important thing that we all have to remember, while recalling that Jesus won the victory.  He conquered sin and death.  He wants us to join with Him.  We cannot do it ourselves.  We need to join Him.  

So, wherever we are on that spiritual spectrum we need to be with Christ.  We need to get there.  First, we need to put Him in the center of our lives.  NOTHING ELSE MATTERS if we lose eternal life!  We have to speak that boldly and make people understand! If you've lost eternal life, you've lost everything!  There is nothing else.  

We have to take our spiritual lives seriously.  We have to realize individually and collectively:  I need Christ to conquer sin and conquer death in my life.  I need Christ.  We all need Christ.  He rose from the dead!   Yes, but we haven't risen from the dead.  We're not in eternal glory.  We need to get there.  We need to be there with Him.  He provides us with the invitation.  He calls us time and time again.  Be My disciple.  It involves picking up the cross.  It involves following him daily.  It involves an intimate prayer life, a life in union with God who is our spiritual sustenance.  God sustains us!  We need Him!  

On this Easter Sunday, yes we can sing Alleluia.  Yes, we should sing Alleluia, because we know Christ won the victory.  But did we?  Did we join with Him?  Are we in eternal life yet?  No!  We're not there yet.  We need Him to get there.  So, wherever we are on the spiritual spectrum, may we turn to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord Jesus Christ!  Look to Him.  The tomb is empty.  He conquered sin. He conquered death.  He continues to invite you and me to share eternal life with Him.  However, it's not on our terms, but on His terms:  Pick up your cross and follow Me daily!  

Happy Easter!

Rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ and realize what He has done for us.  

Alleluia!

Easter Sunday
April 12, 2020