Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Lord in the Scriptures we are reminded yet again this Easter season that all of us as Christians are called to be worthy and genuine witnesses of the Risen Lord, in proclaiming the truth about Him and His Resurrection and everything that He had done for the sake of the salvation of the whole world. All of us are called and reminded to be the ones to proclaim the Good News of the Lord’s salvation which He has willingly and generously offered to all of us through His Passion, namely His suffering and death, and ultimately through His glorious Resurrection. As Christians we have to be genuine in our actions, words and deeds so that everyone who witness us all will come to know of the Lord and His salvation through us and our exemplary lives.

In our first reading today, we heard the continuation from the account of the Acts of the Apostles in which St. Peter the Apostle spoke to the assembled people coming from various countries, the Jewish diaspora population and other visitors who came to Jerusalem to attend the Festival of the Pentecost. Prior to this event, the disciples had been in hiding, being afraid of the repercussions and the persecutions from the Jewish authorities and the many people who opposed the Lord and His efforts, those who had persecuted Him and condemned Him to death, crucified Him and henceforth continued to resist, refusing to believe that the Lord Jesus had indeed risen from the dead. They were afraid because those same authorities had attempted to silence them and spread their own version of events, claiming that the disciples of the Lord stole His Body from His tomb and hid the Body.

But with the strength of the Holy Spirit, the encouragement and wisdom that they had received, the Lord’s Apostles and disciples had received the encouragement and the drive they needed to go forth without fear anymore, to testify before everyone what they themselves had seen and witnessed, in all the glorious things that they had experienced in the presence of the Resurrected Lord, Who had overcome death itself, and showed them all His Divine and Risen glory, no longer hidden from them as before His Passion, suffering and death. They had also witnessed how the Lord ascended into Heaven in glory, and promised to them that He will one day return at the end of time, and not before sending them out, commissioning them and entrusting them with the important mission of going forth to the whole world and to proclaim His Good News, baptising all the people in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

It is what St. Peter therefore had shown us all, in his courageous stand for the Risen Lord, for all that He had shown His disciples, and thus, in the message which St. Peter proclaimed to the people, convincing so many among those people, astounded by their words and wisdom, and many of them able to understand the words of the Apostles because of the gift of tongues that the Holy Spirit had given them. We heard how three thousand people gave themselves to be baptised on that day, and that marked the beginning of the public face of the Church, which was unveiled to the whole world on Pentecost. This also reminds us all of the important mission and calling that we ourselves have as Christians, to be God’s faithful disciples and followers, and to do His will in all opportunities, as much as possible.

Then in today’s Gospel passage, we heard from another account of the appearance of the Risen Lord to His disciples, and this time it was the appearance of the Lord to Mary Magdalene, one of His closest disciples, who was distraught outside the tomb of the Lord, having discovered that His Body had gone missing from the tomb. She was desperate and lost, and did not know what to do, although the Angels of God at the tomb on Easter Sunday morning had told her and the other women with her that the Lord had indeed risen from the dead as He Himself had predicted it earlier. It was there then that the Lord appeared to her, while initially she did not recognise Him. Eventually, Mary Magdalene recognised the Lord when He revealed Himself to her, and told her to proclaim His message to all of His disciples.

Through what we have received in today’s Scripture readings, we are all reminded that each and every one of us as Christians must always put our faith and trust in the Lord, remembering everything that He had done for our sake, in His Passion, suffering and death on the Cross, that He has brought unto us the hope of everlasting life and salvation, liberation from the tyranny and dominion of sin and death. By His Resurrection, He has shown and reminded all of us that sin and death do not have the power or the say over us any more, and as long as we adhere closely to Him, following everything which He had done, we shall have no need to fear about anything. We may face hardships and persecutions, trials and oppressions like the Lord and His disciples themselves had faced, but we are reassured of triumph and victory with God in the end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all therefore come together today to commemorate the glorious celebrations of Easter, which still continues on until the Solemnity of the Pentecost, let us all hence remind ourselves of our calling and mission as Christians, to be truly faithful and committed to the Lord, in all of our way of life, our every words, actions and deeds. We have to strive to live our every moments in life in service to God, in doing His will and in being truly worthy of Him, as best as we can so that by our lives we may indeed be good inspiration and role models for our fellow brothers and sisters around us. We should always be committed to live our lives in the manner that God has shown us so that our lives may truly proclaim our Risen Lord to all.

Let us remember that through our baptism we have been made parts of the Church, the one united Body of Christ. And as part of what we have been entrusted to do, we are to go forth to proclaim the Lord to all the people of all the nations, and we can do this in our own small little ways, in each and every moments of our lives, by carrying out our duties and responsibilities faithfully as Christians in even the smallest things we do, and in our every interactions with our brothers and sisters around us. May the Risen Lord continue to bless us all and guide us, and may He give us the strength and courage to proclaim His Resurrection, truth and Good News like His Apostles and disciples. Amen.