THEY WILL SEE ME IN GALILEE

HOMILY FOR THE EASTER VIGIL DURING THE HOLY NIGHT

Rev. Fr. Peter Onyekachi Ezekoka

This Lent may have felt like the lengthiest Lent we have ever experienced. For many of us, Lent has felt like an endless stretch of prayer and fasting and of enforced isolation in our own homes, culminating in the agony of Good Friday. My guess is that this feeling was probably intensified by the boredom and uncertainty created by the current pandemic. But suddenly, tonight, Lent stops. The Gloria fills the air with vibrant excitement, the bells ring out once again, and we stand amazed as the opening prayer assures us of ‘the radiance of the risen Christ.’ And then the Gospel (Matthew 28:1-10) tells us that there was a violent earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descending from Heaven came and rolled away the stone and sat on it. The lockdown situation in which we find ourselves today can actually help us to understand this passage. Imagine for a moment how life will one day return to normal, how people will embrace each other, how we shall return to the Church with joy and relief when this stone of COVID-19 has been rolled away. 

The face of Our Lord was described as ‘like lightning’. Our own faces will reflect our great joy and delight at His resurrection. Oh! When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage, it seemed like a dream, sang the Psalmist (Ps 126:1); then was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue with singing. The Body of Christ has risen the tomb. He is risen from death. We are saved. Our lives have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler (Ps 127:7). It is imperative that we thank Our Lord that we belong to this community of faith whom He came to save from sin and death. Thanks be to God that I am a part of the community of faith that has been redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. Christ is risen! In the beginning was the Word (Jn 1:1), the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, The Lord Jesus Christ through Whom everything was made that was made. From the very beginning Jesus Christ, the Word of God, has possessed the power to raise Himself from the dead. In rising from the dead, His physical body has been transformed. It is incorruptible (meaning that He cannot experience decay), impassible (meaning that He cannot suffer again), ubiquitous (meaning that He is everywhere), agile (meaning that He presents in multiple ways), and subtle (meaning that He acts without restrictions). 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus said to the women: go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee; there they will see me. Jesus wanted to meet up with His disciples (whom He addressed as ‘brothers’) in Galilee. Let me ask you: where do you go back to after you’ve finished your daily labours? Home. What’s the place you miss most when (for instance) you have to travel to a far-off location? Home. Whom do you remember when you’re stressed out by external factors? People … at home. Where’s the place we are being told to stay in order to be safe and healthy? Home. Stay home, stay safe. Am I right? Now we can appreciate the reason why Our Lord told His brothers to come and meet Him in Galilee. Galilee was home to Jesus in His humanity. 

Galilee had a mixed population of Jews and Gentiles, and was home to lots of people from differing backgrounds and cultures. Consequently, the inhabitants were open to change, growth and new ideas. These qualities attracted people with ideas because of the open-mindedness of those who settled in the area. It was in this environment that Jesus began His ministry (cf. Mt 4:12). Galilee was the place where almost all of the disciples of Jesus lived. Although born in Bethlehem in Judaea, Jesus was regarded thereafter as a native of Galilee and He spoke with the local accent. Jesus spent most of His life and ministry in Galilee, and had foretold it as His destination after His rising from the dead: after I am raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee (Mt 26:32). ‘Going back to Galilee’ meant ‘going home’ for Jesus and His disciples. 

‘Charity’, they say, ‘begins at home’. My dear friends, may I encourage you to accept that tonight, on this Holy Night, the Lord Jesus desires so much to meet you where you live? He desires to meet you right there in your own home, in your personal Galilee. What a great opportunity you have to encounter the Lord Jesus right there in your home this Easter. An encounter with the Lord Jesus will reinvigorate you, encourage you, empower you, and - of course - heal you of your burden of sin. It is Easter! Glory be to God! The glory of the Lord is the light in the midst of our darkness and lockdown. The Lord desires us to experience the power of the resurrection in our own homes. We have been strengthened tonight to face any physical, mental or spiritual earthquake that assails us. How come? Because of our witness tonight to the great spiritual earthquake of the resurrection. Our Lord has risen from the dead out of sheer love for us. We are startled to see that life after physical death is real; that God is real; that Heaven is real. We are utterly transformed by these revelations and assurances. Our hope in God is fulfilled, and our vision for the future on earth and in Heaven is restored. The light and the reality of this night are so magnificent, so glorious, that we find ourselves at peace because we believe in Jesus.  He is risen. Yes, He is. Happy Easter. God bless you.