He Is Not Here, He Is Risen, Alleluia.

He is Not Here, He is Risen – The Power of the Empty Tomb.

Praise be to Jesus Christ

Dear friends in the Risen Lord,

There are many places in the world where people visit, because important and socially significant personalities are being buried there.  Just think about the huge and impressive Egyptian pyramids, for example. To see these pyramids, people travel from all over the world. But at the end of the day, they’re tombs, built to hold the dead bodies of ancient pharaohs. Or think about Raj Ghat in Delhi, where Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of India, is laid to rest. People go there to remember his life and to show respect. Or just think about Westminster Abbey in London. Tourists flock there every day. Why? Because it holds the tombs of kings, poets, scientists, and politicians.  Of course, these places are important, however, there is something common here: people visit these places to remember someone who has died and been buried there.

Today, we are thinking and speaking about a different tomb, the one found in the heart of Jerusalem, inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Millions of pilgrims travel from every corner of the world to visit this place. But they do not come to see a grave that holds a body. They come for the opposite reason, because that tomb… is empty. And outside it, a simple yet heart-shaking message is imprinted into history: “He is not here.” That one sentence changes everything.

My dear brothers and sisters, that’s why we’re gathered here today, it is not to mourn over a great man who once lived. Not to recall the memory of a teacher long gone.

No… We are here because He lives. Jesus, the crucified, died, and buried One, has conquered death. He walked out of the grave, victorious, Just as He promised.

Yes, we’re not here to whisper in sorrow over a tomb.
We are here to lift our voices in joy at an empty one.
We are here to celebrate a Risen Lord, our Lord Jesus Christ and that changes everything.

This is the heart of our faith. This is the reason we have hope. As St. Paul boldly proclaims:
“If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is in vain, and our faith is in vain… But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead!” (1 Cor 15:14)

 Just imagine, If Jesus had not risen, He would have been remembered just as any other  man or woman with a tragic ending; a death on a cross.  A teacher, yes, a reformer, definitely,  a kind soul, maybe, but nothing more. No Church, no sacraments, no followers, no hope of eternal life. But because He rose, everything changes.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it beautifully: “The Resurrection of Jesus is the crowning truth of our Faith in Christ… believed and lived as the central truth by the first Christian community.” (CCC 638) In other words, this is not just one belief among many. This is the foundation, the cornerstone of our faith.

The early Church did not begin by teaching theology or  moral rules. They began with one powerful truth: “Jesus is Lord and He is risen.”

There is a little story I love about two women standing in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. One of them looks at the breath-taking structure and asks, “Why don’t we build places like this anymore?” And the other quietly replies, “Because the people who built this had faith. Today, we have only opinions. And you can’t build a cathedral with opinions.”

The Resurrection is not an opinion. It is not a metaphor or a symbol. It is not wishful thinking. But It is, the truth. And it is this truth that built the Church and still sustains Her today.

But let’s bring this closer to our lives. What does the empty tomb mean… when you’re sitting beside a hospital bed? When your heart is breaking from grief? When you feel lost, tired, unseen? When everything you hoped for seems to have collapsed? It means this is not the end.

It means there is light beyond the darkness. Healing beyond the pain. Peace beyond the chaos.  Because Jesus is not in the tomb. He is alive. And if He lives, then so can we. So can our hope. So can our joy.

So today, let us renew our faith. Not in a memory, but in the living Saviour. Let’s not just admire an empty tomb. Let’s follow the Risen Lord who walked out of it. Let’s allow His victory to touch our wounds, our worries, our daily lives. He is not here. He is risen. Alleluia.

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God Bless…