This is the feast of victory for our God!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

 

The feast of Easter is so important
that the Church celebrates it for q full 50 days.
Some liturgical theologians even consider it one very long day,
with over 1,200 hours in it.

The mystery of the resurrection is just too much
to leave it to just one day with a mere 24 hours in it.

Today, we’re just 15 days into our celebration,
just a bit over 360 hours into the feast.

 

This is the feast of victory for our God!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

 

In our gospel today,
some of the apostles still don’t understand what has happened.
They returned to Galilee,
to their hometowns,
to their old jobs.
Their actions make it seem as though
the resurrection hasn’t happened.
Though they’ve left the upper room,
with its locked doors,
they haven’t move forward.
They aren’t out there preaching and proclaiming
the Good News of what Jesus has done.

They’ve simply gone fishing again.

And just like it was the first time
they met the Lord,
they fished all night and caught nothing.
It wasn’t until the stranger on the seashore called out to them,
“Try the other side,”
that they caught an abundance of fish.

 

It was as if Jesus was repeating what he had done
the very first time they met,
but even then they didn’t seem to recognize him.

 

This is the feast of victory for our God!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

 

Just to make it clear,
Jesus did something else,
he prepared a meal for them.

He had built a fire
and cooked some fresh bread and a few fish.

He reminded them of all the times they had eaten together,
even the times when just a little bread and a couple of fish
was more than enough to feed thousands.

 

At first, they didn’t recognize him,
even though they had seen him many times before,
even though they had seen his risen body in the upper room
back in Jerusalem.

They finally recognized him not by his looks,
but by his words and deeds.

 

This is the feast of victory for our God!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

 

And once they recognized him,
they gave up fishing for good.

They returned to Jerusalem,
where they proceeded to proclaim the Good News
to anyone and everyone,
even when the high priests and the Sanhedrin
ordered them not to.

Even when they remembered what had happened to Jesus
when the same high priests and the Sanhedrin
had conspired with the Romans
to have him put to death.

Having encountered the Risen Lord on several occasions,
and having been overshadowed by the Holy Spirit,
it was impossible for them to remain silent.
They couldn’t help themselves.
They couldn’t keep it to themselves.
They had to tell the world
what they had seen and heard.

 

This is the feast of victory for our God!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

 

While we may not have encountered him in the Upper Room,
while we may not have had breakfast with him on the seashore,
we have heard him in the scriptures.
We have encountered the Risen Lord
in bread and wine
transformed into his very Body and Blood.

And no matter how many times we’ve been told
to keep our faith to ourselves,
sometimes, we just can’t help it.
Sometimes, we just have to speak a word that will rouse them.
Sometimes, we have to speak up and speak out
to proclaim that the Risen One
still walks among us,
still works wonders,
still calls disciples,
still send apostles,
still cries out for justice.

 

This is the feast of victory for our God!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

 

As we continue to celebrate the great feast of Easter,
that time is now.

Now is the time for us to tell the world
what we have seen and heard.

Now is the time for us to work for justice,
to feed the hungry and clothe the naked,
to welcome the stranger and reach out to those in need.
Now is the time to follow the example of the risen One
and his disciples and apostles,
and to proclaim Good News to all God’s people.

 

This is the feast of victory for our God!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!