The Meaning Of Easter, Homily by Jaquon Stoute

22 April 2024

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My name is Jaquon Stoute and it is my pleasure to deliver this short homily on behalf of the Altar Servers guild at St. Philip.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

Jesus came to earth with a message of hope.

His love and compassion reached out to everyone, including the outcasts of society. He healed the sick, comforted the distressed, and preached salvation. Many received his teachings and followed Him. The religious leaders felt threatened by his message of love and humility, and plotted to kill Him. He was betrayed, arrested, and sentenced to die. As the angry mob followed, Roman soldiers took Jesus up the hill of Golgotha and nailed Him to a wooden cross between two thieves.

Jesus was crucified early in the morning on the day we know as “Good Friday”. At noon the sky darkened for three hours. Afterward, Jesus cried with a loud voice, “It is finished,” and gave up his life.
There was a mighty earthquake that split the rocks and opened many graves. The disciples took his body and laid it in the tomb and placed a large stone to secure the entrance.

On the third day there was an earthquake and an angel came down from heaven and rolled away the stone.

In the Gospel according to Mark which we just heard, when Mary Magdalene who Jesus first appeared to, told persons that she had seen Jesus after His death, they did not believe her. Even when Jesus
appeared to the disciples they did not believe that it was Him at first. He showed them the wounds in his hands and his side and blessed them with the peace of God. He spent many days teaching and
speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned.

Many persons believe that the Easter celebration is just on Easter Sunday and the Monday bank-holiday when they get to go back to eating ‘regular food” after the Lenten fast. However, the season of
Easter is for a period of fifty days which ends on Whitsunday, where the spirit of the Lord descending upon the Apostles.

By rising from the dead, Jesus Christ demonstrated that He had cleansed the guilt of our past and is able to help us in our present lives. His resurrection assures us that our future is safe and secure.
Without Christ’s resurrection we would have no salvation from sin, and no hope for our own future resurrection.

Easter is a beautiful time of the year, it usually falls in the season of spring when all the flowers are in bloom, when most animals are giving birth to babies. It is a time of refreshment even for us after our
Lenten fasting.

Easter is a time of celebration, most of all we celebrate our risen Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

The best part of Easter is Jesus is still alive. By His death, Jesus paid for our sins.

Many of us have done something that we are not very proud of. Many say it is hard to be a Christian and do good at all times and often fall into sin. The resurrection means that our sins are forgiven. That is good news. Good news that we should spread to others.

The resurrection means that our Father in heaven is waiting for us to spend eternity with Him.

The Gospel tells us that everything will be alright for people who trust in Him. Problems may come but it will just pass away.

Jesus death said to us that we have nothing to fear. He has the keys to death and hell. He has defeated the enemy. He has gone ahead of us and taken care of anything that could harm us.

As Christians we are called to love God and others, to share the Gospel of Christ and make disciples, to live a life of holiness and purity, to serve others, and to be good stewards of all that God has given us.

So, you see my brothers and sisters in Christ as long as we follow His teachings and do what is good and pleasing in His sight we too will be resurrected with Him into eternal life.

Let us pray

Heavenly father, pour your Holy Spirit in our hearts, that faith we may cling to your Son Jesus Christ, find comfort in his passion anddeath, believe the forgiveness of sin through him and in willing obedience to your will, lead holy lives on earth until by your grace we depart from this world of sorrow and obtain eternal life; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever.

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