Acts 3:13-15,17-19; 1 John 2:1-5; Luke 24:35-48
Semper exsultet populus tuus, Deus - May your people always exult, O God.
The Collect of today’s Mass asks God to give us exultant joy. We need to ask for this, because our minds so easily forget what Christ has done for us. We lose focus; our gaze drifts away from the hope of heaven, and sinks back to preoccupation with the things of this earth. So today we ask God to give us the joy of Easter, the joy of heaven: joy appropriate to what we have received in Christ. We ask this, knowing that however much joy we attain, it must always fall short. If we could ever realise fully what Easter means, what it implies, then surely our joy would be uncontainable.
In today’s first reading St. Peter points towards the cause of our joy. He begins with a shock: confronting his hearers with the gravity and catastrophe of their sin. The promised and long-awaited Messiah at last arrived among his own people; but you disowned him. The Saviour and Redeemer came; but you rejected him. God himself descended from heaven to earth for your sake: and you crucified him. Peter’s terrible words apply to us Christians not less than to the Jews, but more. What the Jews did to Jesus is what all sin does. Only, our post-Baptismal sin cannot hide behind the mitigating plea of ignorance, or of any lack of grace. So what we sinners deserve from God is only punishment, destruction, permanent removal from his presence. What we get is the reverse of that. For God raised Christ from the dead. By divine power, and in divine love, God turned evil to good; death to life; defeat to victory; grief to joy. So on condition of our repentance, which will be expressed sacramentally, all our sins are in Christ wiped out. From Christ’s death there pours out for us, not condemnation, as we deserved, but forgiveness, mercy, grace, reconciliation, liberation, hope, life.
But we have greater cause for joy even than this. The event of Christ’s resurrection cannot only mean that, as it were, we get out of jail free. No: on Easter Day God honoured us, who belong to Christ: we who were slaves of sin and children of death. He raised us up with Christ, even to the dignity of Christ’s own Royal Priesthood, and of his divine Sonship.
Semper exsultet populus tuus, Deus, renovata animae iuventute - May your people always exult, O God, with the youth of their lives renewed.
The image of youth renewed occurs in Psalm 102 (103), which is a great Hymn of thanksgiving to the God of redeeming love. Verse 5 of this Psalm speaks of God renewing our youth like an eagle’s. There is a text in Isaiah which has a very similar thought: Those who hope in the Lord will regain their strength; they will sprout wings like eagles; though they run they will never grow weary; though they walk they will never tire (40:31).
The Catholic Church renews her youth whenever she welcomes new members through the sacrament of Baptism. But she renews her youth also through the annual celebration of Easter. We, who were baptised long ago, have once again these days faced the reality, the horror, the saving power of Christ’s death. We have known also his presence among us, as one who has conquered death, and is now alive forever. With the whole Church we have lived through these mysteries of our faith; celebrated them, contemplated them, participated in them; and from that, as always, we have drawn new life, new energy, new grace, new joy.
Semper exsultet populus tuus, Deus, renovata animae iuventute, ut, qui nunc laetatur in adoptionis se gloriam restitutum - May your people always exult, O God, with the youth of their lives renewed, so that, rejoicing now to be restored into the glory of adoption.
The measure of the glory of our adoption is the glory of the risen Christ. Today’s Gospel gives us a glimpse of what this glory is to be. Jesus risen from the dead is not a ghost. His body is real, and the same as before, only glorified. He showed them his hands and his feet, says St. Luke, echoing the Gospel of John (Lk 24:39). Jesus shows his hands and feet because they bear the wounds of his passion. Only now there is nothing in these wounds of defect, or pain, or shame: now they are signs only of glory, of beauty, of victory. Jesus bears his wounds forever because his Priesthood lasts forever (cf. Hb 7:24-25). In the words of St. John in our second reading today, Jesus abides forever as our advocate with the Father ... as the sacrifice that takes our sins away (1 Jn 2:1-2). Even after the final resurrection, when all things are accomplished, and the need for intercession is past, Jesus will bear his glorious wounds. They will abide as signs of his love, and signs of sin overcome; as gateways of his mercy; as a permanent source of consolation for the redeemed, and our spring board for ever-renewed gratitude and joy.
Semper exsultet populus tuus, Deus, renovata animae iuventute, ut, qui nunc laetatur in adoptionis se gloriam restitutum, resurrectionis diem spe certae gratulationis exspectet - May your people always exult, O God, with the youth of their lives renewed, so that, rejoicing now to be restored into the glory of adoption, they may await the day of their own resurrection in hope of sure reward.
Eastertide is a season of renewed hope, as well as of renewed faith. We look forward eagerly, rightly expecting something utterly wonderful to come. This must exceed any possible imagination: but we know it will involve our bodies now clothed in immortality (1 Cor 15:53); we know it will mean being with Jesus, forever seeing his face, and rejoicing in him. We know it will involve a communion of love, with the Trinitarian Persons, with the Angels, and with all the Saints. Thinking of that now should certainly make us smile, and want to sing, and to fall on our knees in gratitude.
Here in the Northern hemisphere we are fortunate to have new life bursting out all around us. Nature here surely helps us to praise God, as we should. Iubilate Deo omnis terra (Ps 65:1), we sang as we came into Mass today. Cry out in joy to God, all the earth! Sing a Psalm to his Name! Give him glory and praise, now and forever: for Christ is risen from the dead; yes, he is truly risen, Alleluia! Amen.