WE MEET IN GALILEE

HOMILY FOR THE EASTER VIGIL IN THE HOLY NIGHT

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

That body is no longer in the tomb. We are saved. Our lives have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler (Psalm 127:7). Thank God I am part of this community of faith, for whom they Lord came. Thank God I am part of those who have been redeemed by the blood of the lamb. Thank God I am part of those who have been told to go ahead to Galilee for a super Christophany (appearance of Christ), which is in itself a theophany. Christ is now resurrected. His body is no longer like ours. This body now enjoys incorruptibility (he cannot experience decay), impassibility (he cannot feel pains again), ubiquity (he is everywhere), agility ( he moves rapidly from one place to another), subtility (he can move without restrictions). It is this resurrected body that we are going to Galilee to meet.

In the Gospel (Matt. 28:1-10) of today, Jesus said to the women: go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee; there they will see me. Hence, following His resurrection, Jesus wanted to meet with His disciples whom he now called brothers in Galilee. We must recall that there are three references to Galilee as the meeting place of Jesus and his disciples when Jesus must have resurrected. One was during the Last Supper, when Jesus said: After I am raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee (Matt. 26:32). Two was when the women arrived at the tomb and found an empty tomb, the angel told them to notify the disciples that he is going before them to Galilee; it is there that they will see him (Matt. 28:7). Three was when the women were already on their way to dispatch this message, Jesus himself appeared to them and still repeated the words of the angel to them (Matt. 29:10). And actually, the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them, and met Jesus (cf. Matt. 28:16-20).

Galilee was majorly divided into the Southern and Northern part. Northern Galilee is rugged and mountainous. Southern Galilee is gentle rolling hill country, frequently interrupted by plains. The soil is fertile. The situation of Galilee made it a crossroad of important routes, radiating in all directions and gave it a mixed population. Many people of different origin lived in Galilee. As a city, it was welcoming and had mixed cultures with no particular culture priding itself as the best. So, every wise teacher desired to sprout from Galilee, for it is there that one can get people who are open to change, growth, acceptance and correction. From here, we perceive the smell of the reason for the choice of Galilee in Jesus ministry.

1. But, why is the choice for Galilee as a place of meeting? Remember, that Galilee was not the Jewish capital where kings and queens live. It was not even the central place for religious activities. Galilee was the place where almost all the disciples of Jesus lived. Jesus Himself was generally regarded as a native of Galilee. Most of the events of the synoptic Gospels occurred in Galilee, and there Jesus spent most of His life and most of his ministry. Thus, having fought the war for our salvation, Jesus did not hesitate to go back to where he started. Jesus started his ministry in Galilee (cf. Matt. 4:12). So, he deemed it worthwhile to go back to the origin with the disciples for the great commissioning of the Church. Charity begins at home. Do not forget that this week had been so tough for Jesus as regards the suffering he endured till he died on the cross, and the war he fought in the underworld to liberate the dead. After the fatigue of this work, the place that came to his mind was that home from where he started. Galilee gave to Jesus a fertile ground for his ministry because of the welcoming attitude of people who live. The land was occupied by both Jews and Gentiles, and so they had a more universal mentality. Their acceptance of him made him to remember them, and they became the first city that experienced the grace and power of the resurrected Jesus.

Where do you remember easily after your period of stress, of suffering, and of work that saps great energy from you? Do you go to the bar to drink, or do you return home; that home from where you left for work, that home that washes your clothing, cooks for you, trains you, accepts you, and sees to your welfare? Again, when success comes to you, where is the first place you remember? Jesus remembered the place that made him welcome when he became a conqueror/saviour; do you also remember your home when you become a conqueror or a victor? Or do you take your home as archaic, barbaric, foolish and destructive? It was that home that guided and guarded you when you were young, now someone tries to convince you that the same home wants you dead; and you agree?

2. It can never end in suffering. There were three grades of suffering Jesus passed through, and this three are represented by the name of a place. They all began with the letter G and are therefore called the 3Gs. The first G is Gethsemane, the garden of cries and weeping before the arrest. The second G is Gabbatha, the place of judgment, of flogging, and of various ridicule for Jesus. The third G is Golgotha, the place of execution of Jesus, where he died. However, these three places were not decisive. There is a fourth place: Galilee. It is a place of meeting the resurrected Christ. It is a place of discovery of the risen Christ. It is a place where the disciples were empowered to become another Christ. Hence, our followership of Christ involves but goes beyond the 3Gs. Galilee is a place of glory, of vision, of power, of a miraculous experience which no ear has heard nor has any eyes seen. Personally, I am going to Galilee to have this experience. I know too that some people are ready to go with me. Let us all go to Galilee where we shall see the resurrected Christ, and where we shall receive fresh powers to conquer, and the unction for our functions.

3. Remember too that this meeting is on a Galilean mountain. The mountain is known as a place for divine revelation. It was on the mountain that Moses encountered Yahweh. It was also on a mountain that Christ was transfigured. This time around, it is on a mountain that the disciples were empowered. Therefore, being on top of the mountain places us at the threshold between the skies and the earth. So, our going to the mountain makes us to be on top. And our being on top will not be for our sake but for the sake of those whom we shall draw up to enjoy this mountain of revelation, of apparition and of glory.

4. Lastly, tonight Jesus desires to meet you where you live. From the tomb, He rises with the words: I will meet you where you live. He desires to meet you where you work. He desires to meet you where you study. It is in that place that he will see you. He does not expect to see you in Enugu where you live in Aba. He does not expect to see you in the market place where you work in the bank. He does not expect to see you in the Engineering Department where you are in the Nursing department. Be where you are, and the Lord will encounter you. The apostles were from Galilee, and it was there that the resurrected Lord met with them, and they encountered him. Be calm but ready to experience this divine encounter. I wish you this encounter that reinvigorates us, encourages us, and empowers us this Easter. May you experience the power of the resurrected Jesus in your homes. Amen. I WISH YOU A SPLENDID EASTER CELEBRATION. God bless you.