Easter Sunday

Readings for Sunday: Acts, Colossians, John

The story of Easter is not a recent one—it was written nearly 2,000 years ago. It centers on a man named Jesus of Nazareth, a carpenter by trade, whose life and death sparked a movement that has endured for millennia. He was executed by crucifixion, a brutal method perfected by the Romans. To ensure his death, a soldier pierced his side with a lance. By all accounts, he was undeniably dead.

Yet, three days later, on Sunday morning, his followers claimed to have seen him alive—not as a ghost or a mere apparition, but truly and fully bodily alive. He bore the wounds of crucifixion, could appear and disappear, and even ate food with them. His resurrection was not symbolic. It was physical, tangible, and unprecedented.

Eyewitnesses like Peter declared, “We ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.” Mary Magdalene discovered the empty tomb and, according to the Gospel accounts, did not immediately assume a resurrection. At that time, Jewish belief held that bodily resurrection would occur at the end of time, not to a single person in the present.

Despite facing persecution and death, the disciples never wavered in their assertion that they saw Jesus, bodily risen from the dead. That belief radically changes how a person sees life and even existence itself.

If Jesus is indeed the God-man, possessing eternal life in himself, then perhaps our lives should reflect that truth. As St. Paul urges: “Seek what is above… For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” This is the heart of Easter.