Homily: Easter Sunday of the Lord’s Resurrection (C)
John 20:1-9
20 April 2025
Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez, AA
This is the day!! Look to your seatmate and happily announce to them “This is the day!” For us, Christians, no other day holds more significance than THIS DAY! Jesus is risen! Our Messiah has conquered sin and death in the world. He has opened the gates of Heaven for humanity and given us a reason to hope again. He is the light at the end of our tunnel and the dawn of a new day for us. The light of Christ has never burned brighter because it is fueled by a love that no dark power in existence can ever extinguish. This is the triumph of Easter!
The Easter story from the Gospel according to John begins with a very interesting detail: “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb…” (John 20:1) We would expect that Easter, being the feast of light, would start in brightness, but the gospel tells us that it begins in darkness. Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb “while it is still dark”. Her heart is heavy. She is grieving the loss of a mentor and a dear friend. Everything she hoped for in the Messiah seemed lost.
That situation is not uncommon to us. This is exactly where many of us literally and figuratively are, or have been. Some of us are still in the dark, still trying to make sense of suffering, still carrying grief or confusion, still waiting for something to change. We often think of Easter as the moment when everything is all right again. But the truth is, though Christ rose, the world’s pain did not vanish overnight. Pain did not disappear. The Jews still suffered oppression from the Romans in power. Yes, the tomb was empty but the impact of the Resurrection had yet to come to light.
And that is the same today. Easter brings hope, but it does not erase the challenges we still face. There are still loved ones lost and relationships that are still broken. The news headlines are consistently filled with war, injustice, and fear. We still experience the shadow of our broken world just as Mary Magdalene and the disciples did in their day. It is not easy to discern the will of God in the everyday occurrences around us — especially, the evil and the mundane. There is still a lot of confusion even among those of us who try our best to be good Catholics. In our First Reading today, we find Peter boldly proclaiming the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. However, his witness did not start with certainty — it started with confusion. He had run to the tomb. He saw. He wondered. And although, it was not immediate, the light of faith slowly dawned upon him.
Yes, the wonder of Easter does not wait for the darkness to end! Christ rises in the dark, while Mary was still crying and while the disciples were still hiding. As the world remained shrouded in darkness, Jesus triumphed over death. Even if they did not understand it right away — even if they were confused and afraid — the light had already broken through. Thus, if we are still walking through our own dark morning, let us not lose heart. New life does not always come with a spectacle. Sometimes, it comes quietly — like dawn breaking after a long night.
It reminds me of the lyrics of the song Blessings by Laura Story,
“Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise”
Let us keep walking our paths. Christ is risen! That is more than enough reason to keep hoping. We can be sure that there is always light — in our life, in our wounds, in our longing — no matter how dark it feels.
Happy Easter, brothers and sisters. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Photo from Hallow.com
Sunday Gospel Reflections 