Christ is risen! Alleluia!
In Easter, we celebrate not just the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Easter, each of us is raised to a new life!
Many of our parishes have, in the past 20 years, revived a most important tradition of the church – the celebration of the Easter Vigil. During the service, catechumens are received into the church via baptism. That this is done during Easter Vigil bears a two-fold meaning: our newly baptised brothers and sisters experience the resurrection together with Christ, receiving ‘new life’; and they join the rest of the church, who would reaffirm their baptismal vows in the same evening, sharing the same spiritual ‘birthday’ on Easter.
Thus it is our joy as bishops to congratulate the newly baptised, for you have received a new life! And congratulations likewise to the already baptised, for this is the spiritual ‘happy birthday’ that we all share.
‘Receiving new life’ is indeed something worthy of celebration! For this is a life that belongs to God – it is eternal; it is full of power, joy, and peace; it is a life that gives life to others, and it is a life that lives on despite having gone through the valley of the shadow of death.
But in our world, more often do we see people who are physically alive, and yet have the shadow of death hanging over them. They live as if they are already dead, wallowing in the sins of humanity: selfish, greedy, treacherous and presumptuous, they live with wickedness corrupting their core. Their actions push humanity ever closer to the edge of mutual annihilation.
The embers of a worldwide war seem to be glowing ever brighter in recent years. The military conflicts between Israel and Palestine, and Ukraine and Russia continued without abating, and more recently, ‘Operation Epic Fury’ began with the US and Israel launching a series of attacks on Iran. Geopolitical instability has risen to new heights, and we are now staring down the barrel of a global energy and supplies crisis. With the added international trade rivalry, the ensuing economic shock has been felt not just locally in the region, but around the globe. With the world in such dire straits, it is perhaps unavoidable to be worried, feel powerless, or even despair.
Hong Kong and Macau, our little corner of the world, are not exempt from this geopolitical and economic shock wave. Even though some numbers may paint the picture that there is growth, it is undeniable that we are seeing a period of economic slowdown. People are now less willing to spend and consume, and businesses have been less optimistic in investments and expansion. Together with other lingering social ills such as low birth rates and growing mental health issues, we are beset with worries indeed. For many, we are living a dying life.
But the resurrection of Jesus is a beacon that pulls us back to the ‘newness of life’. By baptism, our old lives are buried together with the old world and with Jesus, so that by his resurrection from the grave, we too are granted the newness of life. (Romans 6:4)
Such is the nature of our mortal life that we are easily affected – or even controlled – by the circumstances that surround us. We happily spend when the markets are doing well, and we worry when the numbers in the news go down; we wake up to carefree days when there is peace, and troubled ones when there is war; people stay when things are getting better, people emigrate when things are getting worse; and even our family members are only treated as family when they agree with us, and are neglected and ignored when they don’t.
Even so, if we have experienced the ‘newness of life’ of Easter, then our perspectives would not be so constrained by our circumstances. Though imperfections exist in our world, region, community, or even family, Christ’s resurrection grants us a hope that survives all such imperfections. It is a hope that enables us to love this world which was created by our God, and to love our country, city, and family. By this hope, we live out the three Christian offices we inherited at our baptism: to be a prophet, a priest, and a king.
We have the prophetical office to fulfil, and so it is our responsibility to bear witness to this new life given to us by our Lord, by proclaiming the truth of Christ via both word and deed, and act according to his love and forgiveness. We have the priestly office to fulfil, and so we are to offer ourselves a living sacrifice to our Heavenly Father, and to pray for the needs and blessings of others. We have the kingly office to fulfil, and thus we are called to imitate Christ the King, and serve our Lord and others just as our servant-king did.
In the Easter Vigil this year, since it is Year A of the liturgical calendar, we would have read from the Gospel of Matthew the account of our saviour’s resurrection. At dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. The women, though likewise stricken with fear, left the tomb with great joy, and ran to tell Jesus’ disciples. (Matthew 28:1-8)
Faced with the same shocking revelation, the guards and the women reacted differently. The guards, who did not know the Lord, were ‘shook and became like dead men’. But the women, who knew and loved the Lord, were surprised by joy, comforted, and strengthened to proclaim the good news of the risen Christ.
Dear brothers and sisters, today as we face the same world and celebrate the same Easter, will we be shaken by fear, or will we be surprised by joy? The key to this question lies in whether we have truly received the ‘newness of life’.
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
++Andrew Chan +Timothy Kwok +Matthias Der