My brothers and sisters, Easter greetings!

Humanity’s ancient enemy needed to be defeated and the whole of
problem of sin and death needed to be corrected. The serpent’s bite to humanity
was a deadly one. The venom had worked its way deep into the heart of the
entire human race, doing its gruesome work of sin and death. For many years,
the anti-venom was unavailable until He appeared. One drop was all that was
needed, so potent was this antidote that the entire human race was able to
recover, and not just now but for ages unending. Jesus poured out all he had,
down to the last drop at the foot of the cross, on that Good Friday. This was the
Son’s response to the problem of sin.

Three days later came the Father’s response to the problem of death, an
answer so mysterious yet powerful. Jesus was not simply brought back to life like
Lazarus, that would be like a form of resuscitation, or simply a return to the
normal. Jesus did not just simply come back, He passed over or passed through.
His resurrection meant that he would no longer be subject to death. Death, as St.
Paul said, would have no more power over him.

To accomplish the redemptive mission, Jesus confronts death head on, for
our sake. The Roman Easter sequence, a traditional poem stretching back into
the first millennium, highlights the drama: “Death with life contended: combat
strangely ended! Life's own Champion, slain, yet lives to reign.” This reminds me
of the movie the Lord of the Rings, where Gandalf the Grey who sacrificed
himself to take out the Balrog, returns as Gandalf the White.

Resurrection is not something that Jesus intended to keep for Himself. All
that He has He shares with us: His Father, His mother, His Spirit, His Body,
Blood, Soul, and Divinity, and even His risen life. After preparing ourselves during
the Lenten season, we can begin to share in this new life now, experiencing its
regenerating power in our souls and even in our bodies. We have access to it in
many wonderful ways, but especially in the Eucharist. For the Body of Christ that
we receive is his Risen, glorified body, given to us so that we too might live
forever (John 6:40-65).

May this Easter season be a time of profound and everlasting joy, hope
and renewed faith in the risen Christ. Happy Easter, alleluia, alleluia!