The Resurrection of the Lord
Sunday, April 5, 2026
St. James Cathedral (10:00am)

Watch this homily! (begins at 41:30)

“This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad” (Psalm 118). Today is about rejoicing. Today is about joy.
 
It is a joy that springs from the surprise of an empty tomb. Mary of Magdala was the first to discover the stone removed. She had come to the tomb of Jesus, her teacher, her friend, her Lord. She had come early in the morning on the first day of the week, while it was still dark.
 
It was not only dark because the sun had not yet risen, but it was dark because all that she had hoped for had been crucified and she was coming to mourn the loss of her friend and teacher. She was coming to mourn the loss of a dream that he had inspired in her and his other friends and followers.
 
But the stone is not there. Someone must have taken his body, she says to Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved. They both run to the tomb. Could this be another terrible insult to the dream? Not only has Jesus been executed, but now they cannot even mourn at his tomb.
 
They both enter the tomb, and John tells us that the disciple whom Jesus loved, got it. He believed. They did not yet completely understand about the resurrection - but he believed.
 
Two thousand years later, we celebrate what the Beloved Disciple believed that first Easter morning, and what all the disciples came to believe in the days to come. We celebrate that God did not allow death to have the final word in the life of Jesus. We celebrate that the dream lives on, and that no matter what, life wins.
 
From that time on Christians have celebrated on this day, the first day of the week, the day when the dream came true. Yes, indeed, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad!”
 
Today is a day of rejoicing, a day of joy, because you and I have a share in this dream of new life. In the waters of baptism we have been buried with Christ and have been raised with him to new life.
 
St. Paul tells the Colossians in the second reading this morning, and he tells us, “If then, you were raised with Christ, seek what is above.” You and I can get earth-bound, we can get buried in our own little tombs throughout our lives.
 
We can allow the struggles, the monotony, the sickness, the personal disappointments, the concern about our country and our world, the little and big deaths that we experience - we can let all of this bury our hopes and dreams for a life that we once looked forward to with eager expectation.
 
Easter is about rekindling our original joy. Easter is about renewing the dream and the promise that life holds for us because of the story of Jesus.
 
Peter reminds his listeners of the story. He describes the original excitement of those early days after the baptism that John preached. He recalls how Jesus “went all about Galilee doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil.” He reminds them that he was put to death, but that God raised him on the third day.
 
Just as he did two thousand years ago, God wants to revive the dream, rekindle the excitement and surprise us with joy this day, this Easter Day, this day that the Lord has made.
 
What has grown cold and dead and hopeless in your life, and in mine? What dreams for life and love have been buried in the tomb of our disappointment? Amidst the injustice in our country, and the violence and war-weariness that we are living through, have we become so disillusioned that our hope for a better world has been buried in a tomb of despair?
 
Whatever our disappointments and our dashed hopes, God wants to roll the stone away and free us to believe again, to trust again, that this life he has blessed us with is still very, very good.
 
Our share in Jesus’ resurrection assures us that we will have new life, not only at the end of our lives, but right now. That’s why today is about rejoicing. That’s why today is about joy. All we have to do is let the Lord surprise us as he rolls the stone away from our tombs.
 
In a few moments we will tell the story once again - the story of God’s life-giving love - the dream that never gets old. As we gather around the Table of the Eucharist, may we see here the One who can feed our dreams, and who can surprise us with joy. This is indeed “The day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad!” 

Father Gary F. Lazzeroni