Easter Reflection from Father Wilfred Labbe

The problem with celebrating things on annual basis is that if we are not careful, we can develop the attitude of “been there done that.” Annual celebrations can become so much a part of our routine that the trappings of the feast become more important than the reason for the feast. Familiarity with our annual traditions can cause us to stop looking for something new and to assume that what we celebrate is the same as it has always been.

As we gather to remember the death and resurrection of Jesus, it can become very easy for each of us to simply see these events with the same attitude and the same ideas that we have always had. We can see these events as simply Jesus dying and rising. We can see these events as historical events that certainly mold our faith or inform our ideals. We can see these events as a reason to pray, to gather with loved ones, to attend Mass. Recalling the events of Holy Week can become a reason to hope and to be faithful. All good things, but sadly, even Easter can become a day, a season, in which we find ourselves simply doing what we have always done.

For most, however, there is within us awareness that what we celebrate at Easter is no ordinary event. It is not the same every year. As we grow in faith, as we grow in virtue the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ compels us to go way beyond the ordinary and the usual. The generosity and humility of Jesus in giving his life for us shows us to what lengths God will go to reveal his love for us. He does not spare his son; instead, Jesus, on the cross, thinks of each one of us by name, and in a manner beyond our capacity to understand, with compassion beyond our ability to grasp offers his life that we might have the fullness of life. An ordinary thank you will not suffice for such a great gift and so each of us must go way beyond the ordinary to offer thanksgiving for this gift of inestimable value.

As Jesus leaves the tomb, He opens the way to paradise for all those who have gone before us and restores hope for all those whose faith has become lifeless. Jesus’ glorified body reveals to us that death is not forever, and that evil will never defeat good. Jesus’ glorified body gives us hope that no matter what we suffer in this life, no matter what hardship comes our way, embracing our crosses means we get to follow him from the tomb to glory and to life eternal.

What makes these events so extraordinary is that they transform us into Easter people. Rather than Easter being a day we celebrate once a year, the events of Easter inform how we face every aspect of our lives. In the light of the glory of the resurrected Jesus we laugh, and we cry. In the light of the glory of the resurrected Jesus, we care for the poor and we offer comfort to the sick. In the light of the glory of the resurrected Jesus, we reach our goals and in that same light we struggle with our failures. In the light of the glory of the resurrected Jesus, we live right now in the kingdom of God as beloved children.

Our faith in the events of Easter compels us to use every one of our gifts, to use our voices and our deeds to reveal that because of Jesus, because of his death, because of his resurrection, nothing will ever be the same again. Because we are Easter people, even what seems ordinary and usual is made holy in the light of the resurrected Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is risen, Alleluia! He is truly risen, Alleluia! Not only is this good news, but it is living news that affects our lives today and always. May we never grow weary of looking for extraordinary ways to live and to celebrate this good news.

Father Wilfred Labbe is pastor of St. Matthew Parish in Limerick and St. Thérèse of Lisieux Parish in Sanford.