Easter Sunday 2009
Dear Friends in the Risen Lord,
Grace and Peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus be with all of you. This often repeated greeting at the beginning of the Eucharist is so real on this Easter Sunday when so many faithful people gather to celebrate the Breaking of the Bread. We can know and experience the grace-filled action of God among his People. Like the disciples on that first Day of Resurrection, we throw away our fears as we welcome that peace, which is Christ among us today.
Today is one of those days when our faith, our families, the springtime, the tables overflowing with all manner of good and sweet things come together as we gather at the Lord’s Table. It is here we know the joy of the first disciples on encountering the Lord restored to life. We can rejoice with the early Christian community in welcoming those made new in Baptism, confirmed in the Spirit, and brought to the Lord’s table-fellowship. These new believers had been washed cleaned, anointed with the healing, sweet smelling oil of the Spirit, and fed with the Bread of Life. We can savor the ancient tradition of the Church, when, after communion, the new believers were treated to fresh water and milk to drink along with honey. With them we have come to the Land “flowing with milk and honey”. Today we pass from death to life, brokenness to pardon, and darkness to light in Christ Jesus.
In our challenging times, let us welcome that peace which is Christ. In him let us lay aside the fears and darkness of our lives. Always Christ greeted his friends after his Resurrection: “Peace be with you…don’t be afraid.” As we gather at the Lord’s Table, let us do what believers have done from the very first days – they ate and drank with him at table. In those actions, they came to “know him in the Breaking of the Bread”. He was not make-believe. He was not a ghost. Christ, once dead, lives and eats with his friends. The good news was that his believers lived in him, without fear, with victory over death, and with hope in the days to come.
Today and in the Great Fifty Days of Easter let us embrace our brothers and sisters. Together let us sing the alleluias of victory over sin and death. Let us gather to eat with our families. Let us gather the poor and the migrant people of the earth to our tables, for all of us have risen in Christ Jesus.
