Homily by:
Father Paul Weinberger
Saint William the Confessor Catholic Church
Greenville, Texas
March 23, 2008
On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning while it was still dark and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
Amen
The footrace on Easter Sunday morning between the Apostle, St. Peter and the Disciple Jesus loved, St. John, has been compared to the role of office in St. Peter and the role of love in St. John, and that love is swifter to arrive than office. But, love defers to office. The love in St. Mary Magdalene is what bid her arrive at the tomb early in the morning while it was still dark. St. Mary Magdalene had a checkered past, but once she met Jesus all of that was left behind, and she followed Him and His every move. She would accept no imitation; she could not be dissuaded from Christ.
The reason we are here today is that centuries ago Adam and Eve had a tremendous friendship with God. The Book of Genesis speaks of it in this way… that God used to walk with them in the cool of the evening in the Garden of Eden. God had given them the command not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. It was very clear. While they followed God they enjoyed His friendship, but then another came along from a “polling firm” and told them that God was wrong and that they could, of course, eat from the tree and this business about them dying was not true. The serpent tricked them, but there really was no trick; they didn’t choose to follow the serpent. You see, they entered into the slavery of sin and with it came death. Sin and death came into the world through Adam and Eve; God didn’t invent them. The next time you make a fist and shake it toward Heaven, it is headed in the wrong direction.
The fact is that Adam and Eve by the “Original Sin”, the first sin, welcomed sin and death into the world. They wouldn’t listen to God. They had chosen to follow God and enjoy His friendship and the beauty of the Garden, but no one can choose evil because evil brings with it slavery and death. Many people tell us today that we can choose good or we can choose evil. The people who say this obviously have nothing to do with raising children. If you tell children that they can choose good or evil, when they choose evil, like little lawyers they will just tell you,
“Well…you told me I could!”
No, we can only choose the light. Last night when we started the Easter Vigil the fire was lighted in a completely darkened church at 9:15 pm, and then from that fire, which was blessed, the Paschal candle was blessed. “Christ Our Light, thanks be to God” was chanted three times. From that candle, everyone in church with a candle lit his or hers and the church became illuminated. The Light of Christ pierced the darkness. That candle represents Christ, Our Light. Like St. Mary Magdalene, we must see that in Christ is our friendship with God, and to choose anything else is to return to the slavery of Egypt and sin. Every time we choose the slavery of sin people begin to get hurt and people begin to die.
In his recent book, Pope Benedict quotes a Jesuit priest who was killed by the Nazis. The quote is as follows.
You begin to rearrange that hierarchy, you begin the rearrange the order, people begin to be hurt and people begin to die. When bread is more important than liberty, when liberty is more important than unbroken fidelity and adoration, the consequence is sin.Bread is important, liberty is more important, but what is most important is unbroken fidelity and adoration.
The example of St. Mary Magdalene is given to us because we know that in her past, sin had played a tremendous part. But, from the moment she met Christ her love for Him never waned. She was the first witness of the Resurrection. In her we can see an example of what it is to be a true follower of Christ. Someone who had sinned was freed from the sin and slavery by the truth of Christ.
The world is full of people who tell us we can choose to do good and we can choose to do evil. Today, we either put these people in high public office or we put them in charge of great companies. Why is this? This shows an ignorance of Christ and an ignorance of the Light of Christ. We can only choose Christ; everything else is camping out; everything else is slavery.
The beauty of Easter shows that after the ravages of sin and death visited upon Someone Who only has love for us, that His love for us is stronger than sin, the ravages of sin and even death itself. He calls us to respond to His love everyday by choosing His light in every action, word, thought, and every click of the channel changer or the mouse.
This Easter we see many candles and many flowers here on the Altar. The lily is a symbol of purity and without the purity of St. Mary Magdalene, after her encounter with Christ, there is no friendship with Christ, but only the sorrow of Adam and Eve after the Original Sin.
In the Divine Office there is a reading from an ancient homily for Holy Saturday, which quotes an ancient homily, where Christ appears to Adam and Eve when he descends into hell. This hell is not the place of eternal damnation, but the hell of those awaiting the coming of the Messiah. Christ appears to Adam and Eve, and He essentially says to them that He is their Lord and their Son. In other words, He is true God and true Man. He says to them,
Awake O sleeper and rise from the dead and Christ will give you life. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I Am the Life of the dead. Rise, let us leave this place for you are in Me and I am in you. Together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.
The only thing that can separate a baptized Christian from Christ is sin. So, choosing evil is not a choice, but voluntarily putting on the handcuffs and walking into slavery and death. I don’t care how you wrap it…a pig is still a pig and sin is slavery. I don’t care how you dress it up or how the media promotes it; it is still sin. St. Mary Magdalene would never choose other than the Greatest, accepting no imitation and no other. Eagerly, she made her way even in the dark to the tomb early in the morning on Easter Sunday and she was the first witness. Love was swifter to arrive at the tomb than office did. But, she went back to inform the Office of St. Peter that she had seen the tomb empty.
You and I are absolutely useless to Christ and the Church if we return to the slavery of Egypt through committing sin. You wouldn’t give your children permission to choose good or evil because you know the consequences you would reap.
Christ wishes to give us His Risen and glorified Body. If you are Catholic and have made your First Communion, if you are properly disposed today you can receive Jesus’ Risen and glorified Body. When you return to your bench it is most appropriate that after having received Christ, Who is “Unbroken Fidelity” to the Father’s Will, you make time for adoration. Bread is important, liberty is important but what is most important is unbroken fidelity and adoration. St. Mary Magdalene understood this and so should we.
On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning while it was still dark and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
Amen