Easter Homily: God of future hope

Those born and raised in Nevada will understand this, those who have moved here, we hopefully eventually will understand this…winter here in Northern Nevada does not always want to let go. We all know the experience or the stories of people who want to camp during Memorial Day weekend, and they don’t take cold weather clothes. We know that our sweaters, sweatshirts, beanies are never packed away completely. We don’t plant tomatoes in Reno-Sparks until Peavine is clear. We know snow in June, and even in July at times. Winter will not let go.

People can be like that too. We will not let go. We will not let go of the past. Especially past mistakes, past traumas, past grief, past wounds and hurt… We will replay events, hurts, wounds again and again in our minds and hearts. We can feel the hurt all over. A hurt we caused and which we think we need to be punished. A hurt caused to us, and which we think we need to punish the other. We will hold on tightly to the past. This impedes us in life. It stunts our capacity to live fully and move forward. I think we have met those persons stuck in their lives, who will not move forward. It can be sad, frustrating or both.

The Good News of Jesus Christ is that God forgives! God is not God of past mistakes, but God of now and of love, and of peace, and of forgiveness. God is concerned in how we grow as Children of God, our future!

The Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that through his death and resurrection we know God has no interest in punishing us, no interest in keeping us locked up for our past. God only desires our growth, our love to grow. God desires a better future.

The tomb is empty, the past is dead and gone. Hallelujah! And what will this mean??

We heard this in our Gospel tonight, the tomb is empty a new future lies ahead. the story continues tomorrow.

The disciples including will experience the resurrected Jesus; starting with Mary Magdalene, who tries to hold onto a Jesus she knew, but is told to let go.

Then Jesus will go to the disciples, the same who left him, who failed him, who hide in fear; and he will say “Peace be with you”.

We will hear in Luke’s gospel of Jesus appearing to two other disciples fleeing Jerusalem, going back to their old lives because they misunderstood Jesus. They see failure. He will set them straight, and they will return to Jerusalem to move forward.

In each resurrection encounter, the disciples experience forgiveness, compassion, mercy, wisdom…whatever they need to progress, to move forward! Jesus never yells or punishes, or takes vengeance. Jesus only moves them forward in a future of living life to the full.

This is not just for the disciples, it is for all, and all of us! Jesus’ resurrection is God’s forgiveness made real for us. Humanity killed him, but God says “My love is more than your smallness. I do not hold you bound by your mistakes, your sins”. 

Look what we do as Catholics to signify this reality!!!!!

We baptize. Those who are baptized as adults, we say their sins are washed away, they enter into a new life; their past mistakes, sins, smallness, and their past hurts, wounds, all is forgiven. Walk into a new life. Consider how amazing that is.

We celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We come before God and confess we made mistakes, and we accept God’s forgiveness, and we go out to continue forward, to be healed and to heal.

We celebrate Confirmation, sealed with that fragrant oil, to know that God’s Spirit of love remains embedded within us, always.

We celebrate Matrimony, of a man and woman leaving behind one way of living, to engage in living for another and with another; creating a new family.

We celebrate the Sacrament of Eucharist each week, to signify God’s great love for us, that it is given again and again! Always! That Bread and wine become the resurrected person of Jesus Christ, given to us each week. So that we can hope in a future, so that we can live for a future and never give up

Then we live. We go and live! We go forward and live and love.

We go forward accepting God’s great mercy and love, and we let go of our past. We seek the healing that comes with this; so that we can forgive any and all who have hurt us; and we can accept forgiveness.

We go forward in gratitude, with kindness and compassion, with mercy and generosity. All those virtues of God that come through Christ in the Spirit.

These same virtues that allow us to engage in life, and to make positive changes not just for us, but all those we encounter in our lives.

This becomes our Easter JOY! This is our Catholic-Christian Joy!

(So tonight, Cameron, Joe and Caleb, to be baptized, you will really start life anew!

Samantha, Naod, Afton, Stephanie, William & Tanya, Mark, Gail, Chase, to be received into the Catholic Church and be confirmed…you begin a new path in life, following Christ with us in a deeper way.

Maria, Arcelia, Amelia, Kendall & Emma, Jasmine, Julia, Key, Tate & Tripp, baptized as Catholics, and to be confirmed tonight, your faith life begins a renewed journey.

Stay with Christ, he walks with you always on this path to your future; follow that wisdom, take that Grace, be open to the joy.

And enjoy the life that God brings to you, find the joy! Experience the Love.)