by Bishop James F. Checchio
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Around the world we join with our brother and sister Christians proclaiming with joy Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead. We exult in the Resurrection because, as St. Peter tells us, Jesus “gave us a new birth to a living hope … to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4).
Indeed, Easter holds out the promise of reversibility. Not even death is final. In that graveyard in Jerusalem, Sts. Peter and John and St. Mary Magdala with some women, found hope and faith in the risen Lord Jesus Christ. What had happened was shocking, something no one could have expected. Naturally their reactions were mixed – fear, doubt, confusion, but then came belief and joy. Jesus was alive again; he had walked away from the tomb. Nothing like that had ever happened before. There was hope again.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is an object of faith and in a sense a test of our faith. What it means is that we believe that Jesus is still living now in time, in history, He is out there somewhere; He is here with us.
Easter offers a new note of hope and faith that what God did once in a graveyard in Jerusalem he will repeat on a grand scale. Against all odds the irreversible will be reversed. We believe in our own resurrection from the dead, the resurrection of our beloved dead and in the life of the world to come. Incredible, but we believe; what a gift!
Easter is, of course, more than one day. In fact, it is a full season on the Church’s calendar. We even think of every Sunday that we gather for Mass with our fellow disciples as its own “mini-Easter.” So, we remember and rejoice in the Resurrection all year long, but as you gather this Easter Sunday with family and friends, remember to give thanks for the gift from God the Father of being deeply loved by Him. Please know I, too, love you and give thanks to God for you and promise you a place in my prayers at Mass on Easter Sunday and during the year! May you and your loved ones be blessed by our Risen Lord today and during the Easter Season. Please remember me in your prayers as well.
Blessed Holy Week and Happy Easter!
Most Reverend James F. Checchio, JCD, MBA
Bishop of Metuchen
