Christos anesti Alleluia!!
Christ is risen alleluia,
He is truly risen, Alleluia! Alleluia!!

How come Easter is so early this year? How come it isn’t celebrated on the same date every year like Christmas? In fact, since the early days of the Church, there has been great controversy about when to celebrate Easter. In the East, Easter was celebrated on Passover, but since most wanted Easter to be celebrated on a Sunday, the day on which the disciples discovered the empty tomb, they celebrated on the Sunday after Passover, which this year happens to be May 1^st. However, for Roman Catholics and other Christians of the West, the Council of Nicea in 325 determined that Easter would always be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring equinox. As a result, Easter could be celebrated as early as March 22 or as late as April 25. This year it is March 27^th.

But the reality of Easter is not determined by a date on a calendar, or a cycle of the moon or because a preacher proclaims it or a choir chants Alleluias. Easter becomes a reality when each of us who are believers makes our life a source of light for our fellow men and women, when our words heal, when our hearts understand, when lesser values die in us for the sake of greater realities.

Last Sunday, Palm Sunday, I had encouraged people to read the scriptures with the bible in one hand and the newspapers in the other. As I tried to prepare for this Easter homily, I had great difficulty. The news is awful. One news item is worse than the other, they tell about dishonesty, mutilation, murder, terror, war. I couldn’t get away from it. How can I preach of the good news of Easter joy and the promise of new life and light in the midst of all this darkness, sadness death and depression? I focused on the pain etched on the face of the Holy Father, the haunting eyes of Terri Schiavo, the struggle of one of my dearest friends with alcoholism, the agony of another friend who is accused of something he swears he never did. Where is Easter in all of this?

Like the first disciples, I didn’t know where to look for Jesus. My expectations were all warped. I wanted to make it all better. I thought the pope’s health needed to be restored, Terri Schiavo’s life needed to be spared, my dear friend needed to complete her recovery, my other friend’s name needs to be cleared. Then while walking the Stations of the Cross yesterday, at the twelfth station I read, "Although world will not be completely healed and reconciled within history, but only when Jesus returns at the end of time, nevertheless, the death and resurrection of Jesus has broken the hold of sin and death over us. Our liberation has already begun!" Like a bolt of lightening it became clear to me again.

You and I are his witnesses. As the Father has sent me, Jesus said, so I send you. Jesus will be seen by others if we, you and I who are baptized in His name, make Him visible by what we say and do. The Pope is suffering, but in his courageous acceptance, he inspires others, Jesus lives! Alleluia; Terri Schiavo is dying, but in her passing, some will come to recognize the need for a health proxy, others recognize the value of human life, Jesus lives alleluia!; my friend is in recovery, but last year she was in denial, Jesus lives!, alleluia; when we offer the results of our Lenten fasting to help the poor, Jesus lives!; when we take communion to a neighbor who is ill, Jesus lives!, when we advocate on behalf of those treated unjustly, Jesus lives!, when we break the chains of oppression and misery, Jesus lives! When we champion life from its very beginning to its natural end, Jesus lives! When we reach out to someone whose despair is as deep as the darkest night, Jesus lives! When we comfort those whose journey has come to an end and offer them our gentlest care as they pass from our sight ,Jesus lives! Though our Church is still reeling from the results of scandal and disillusionment, people still come seeking to know Jesus though baptism and communion, Jesus lives! Christ is risen alleluia, He is truly risen alleluia!  alleluia!