Easter: Our Glorious Victory!

Happy Easter to you all!

With COVID-19, my prayerful hope was for us to have a great Holy Week experience. In my homily on Palm Sunday, I shared with you my personal approach to Holy Week, which was about entering into a deeper communion with God so that we would know Him more deeply amid COVID-19. Now, that we celebrate Easter, we ask these two questions: How was our encounter with God? What was God telling us in our fight against COVID-19?

Let me share with you a story:

A group of men sat around debating good and bad memories. As a result of the discussion, an impromptu contest began, to test their memories. One young man, with some artistic talent and training in voice production, recited Psalm 23, 'The Lord is my Shepherd'. His rendition was very effective, and it drew thunderous applause, so he had to recite the psalm a second and a third time. The second 'contestant' was difficult to hear every word as he, too, recited 'The Lord is my Shepherd'. When he was finished, there was total silence in the room. Something strange had happened. Unconsciously, many people felt a sense of inner stirring, and a few began to whisper a quiet prayer. The young man, who recited the psalm first time around, stood up and explained the different reception to the two recitals of the same psalm. 'I know the Psalm,' he said, 'but it is obvious that old man knows the Shepherd.'

Indeed, it’s more important to know the Shepherd, and the best way to know Him is to enter a deeper communion with Him. Do we know who God is amid COVID-19? Do we know that He has the absolute power to protect and save us from COVID-19? If we do and confident in His power to save, then we join in the greatest victory of our God over sin and death. It’s Easter for us!

In his "Divine Stories for Families," Elias Dias shared this amazing story of transformation:

Michael Faraday was a famous scientist. One day his servant came into his drawing room, dropped his silver vessel on the ground and broke it into pieces. Michael collected all the pieces of the vessel and put them into a chemical solution and made one mass of it and then shaped a beautiful cup from the same material. This new creation was much more beautiful than the earlier one. It was the same silver that appeared in a different form.

The Resurrection of Christ tells us that our earthly bodies will be transformed into a new life. Only God can do such a great transformation. With our faith in His power, it’s Easter for us because Christ is conquering our fears and anxieties amid COVID-19.

My humble prayer is for our Easter celebration is characterized with deeply rooted conviction in the amazing power of Christ to transform our lives. He is our victorious Lord and Savior of the many broken pieces in our life, yes including our fears and anxieties amid COVID-19. He is risen to transform our broken life into a new strong and vibrant life.

Enjoy your Easter celebration!