Remembering the Easter Hope!

Sunday, April 5, 2026

Easter Sunday

Acts 10: 34a, 37-43; Col 3:1-4; Jn 20: 1-9

Easter Sunday celebrates the victory of Christ’s love.

Every time we celebrate Easter, we are called to remember that there is no death for Christ’s love for us. On the contrary, the resurrection thunderously declares that Christ’s love has eventually won over death and evil.

The Holy Week invites us to contemplate Christ’s sacrifice. Sometimes Good Friday makes us think that everything is over with Jesus’ death on the cross. Christ has been defeated by death. With Christ’s death, the victory of evil has been sealed. 

But Easter Sunday helps us realize that Christ’s death is not God’s final word. The resurrection is a sign that what seemed like an ending has actually become a beginning. Indeed, Christ visited the tomb, but only to break its walls into pieces. 

Evil had its hour, but God had His day (Archbishop Fulton Sheen).

So what changed with Easter? How are we to understand Christ’s Easter victory? What is resurrection in essence?

1. Impermanence of Evil: The resurrection is a slap in the face of death and evil. Jesus was nailed to the cross because of hatred and betrayal. Though it looked that death and evil were winning for a while, their grip could not last long. Here, we must also note that the cross was a deliberate choice of Jesus. Indeed, the cross symbolized outward hatred and violence. But it profoundly symbolized Jesus’ self-giving love. Inflicting on Jesus the Roman state punishment of crucifixion, the foreign oppressors declared, ‘Where there is Caesar, there is power.’ However, with Christ’s resurrection, we Christians proudly declare that, ‘Where there is Christ, there is life.’ The power of evil stands diminished as the cross leads to resurrection. 

2. No Death to Love: Jesus was born to die – but not only to die but also to defeat death through his death and resurrection. Thus, death was not the end of his mission. Christ on the cross proved that true power lies not in oppressing others but in loving them even unto death. The resurrected Lord is proof that nothing has the power to defeat love. Jesus submitted to death only momentarily. To put it differently, Jesus lost the battle but won the war against death and evil. Christ died in and for love. Hence, Christ’s victory is shared by all those who suffer and die for the sake of love. In Christ’s resurrection, every true love is vindicated. Christ’s resurrection is a bold affirmation that if we die in love like him, we will rise in victory like him. 

3. The Easter Hope: The virtue of hope illuminates the victory of Christ’s love much better. Thomas Aquinas teaches us about two dangers to hope: despair and presumption. Despair cries out, ‘It is over. Death has won. Love has failed.’ Presumption tempts us to believe, ‘Christ need not have died at all. There was no need for the cross. Victory comes easily.’ Easter rejects both. The vice of despair denies the power of resurrection. Suffering, death, and uncertainty are not the final words of God. With God, there is an abundance of love and life. The vice of presumption forgets the cost of love. This is why Archbishop Fulton Sheen reminded us, ‘Unless there is a Good Friday, there can be no Easter Sunday.’ St. Clement of Alexandria said, ‘Christ has turned all our sunsets into dawns.’ The Easter hope prepares us to celebrate God’s unfailing love and its victory over death and evil.

The Easter hope helps us with powerful insights for application.

1. We needed Christ’s cross to understand the depth of God’s love. We needed resurrection to understand that there will be no death for genuine love. Christ’s victory proves that in love, it is the vulnerable who is eventually victorious. 

2. Holding on to Easter hope is not easy. But it helps us find the magic if we hold on to it. Christ’s death was not the end, but in the end was the beginning. We are called to realize that resurrection can become a reality in everyone’s life if we have the courage to cling to Easter hope. 

3. Easter is not something we just celebrate. Instead, it is something we are called to live out. Wherever we continue Christ’s fight against death and evil, we keep the Easter hope alive. If we fight Christ’s fight, we will realize that love will have the final word. 

Let us pray that we may hold on to the Easter hope to witness the rise of love.

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar