Easter Sunday 2020

Published: April 12, 2020

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor preached the following homily at the Diocese of Little Rock House of Formation in Little Rock on Sunday, April 12, 2020.

Bishop Taylor

Yesterday evening at the Easter Vigil I spoke about Pope Francis’ message to the world on March 27 when he led us in a world-wide holy hour in a rainstorm in front of St. Peter’s Basilica.

We prayed for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic and we prayed for all those who are impacted by this disease: the sick, the dead, those who grieve the loss of loved ones or care for family members who are ill, for first responders and medical personnel, for all those impacted by the disruption of the economy, closed schools, everything shut down.

A time of darkness and fear has come upon us, a time for courageous charity and prudent public policy, a time for families to pull together, a time for everyone to step back and get their priorities in order, a time to get right with God and each other, a time to admit to ourselves, and maybe for the first time, that we really do need a Savior.

That’s the truth that we celebrate today. The world has been in a struggle between light and darkness from the beginning of time. Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and sin, illness and death entered the world, and then it only got worse. Cain killed Abel out of jealousy and then, over a series of generations, the world became so wicked that God decided he just needed to start all over again, so he sent a natural disaster to destroy over 99 percent of all living things, only sparing Noah and his family and a boatload of animals.

The earth was washed clean by the flood, so to speak, but shortly after leaving the ark for humanity’s fresh start, Noah’s own son Ham sinned against his father and so the sad story of sin and evil resumed and will become a constant throughout all subsequent history. But God didn’t give up on us this time.

He sent Abraham to form us into a people. He sent Moses to free us from slavery and judges to guide us in times of crisis. He sent prophets to try to get us back on track when we strayed and finally he promised to send a Messiah through which he would establish his kingdom and usher in a new age of salvation. And today is the day when we see clearly that he has done just that.

Indeed, he has done more than that, because the Messiah he sent was his own Son, a Savior so different from what was expected that a lot of people couldn’t stand it. He spoke truths that made people very uncomfortable — kind of like Pope Francis does sometimes — and finally Jesus’ adversaries had enough, and they took steps to get rid of him.

On Good Friday darkness seemed to have prevailed. Evil had had its day over and over in the past, but this was the first time that the light was extinguished completely. Always before there had been a flicker of light to survive, a remnant — for instance on Noah’s Ark or amid the exiles in Babylon, but now even the physical world was subdued.

Darkness came over the whole land and there was an eclipse of the sun. The veil of the temple was torn in half from top to bottom. And yet, no, the darkness did not prevail. Today we know the rest of the story. In the Kingdom of God, death is not the end. It is the door to a new, far greater resurrected life in which there is no admixture of darkness. No malice, no suffering, it’s a whole new day. And that’s what those women discovered that first Easter morning!

You and I are gathered here today to proclaim the Good News that sin and illness and death do not have the last word. COVID-19 has caused a crisis that, like everything else, God will use for his purposes. If he can take Jesus’ gruesome death on Good Friday and turn it into the most powerful instrument of salvation ever, he can certainly take the worst effects of the coronavirus and do the same.

Today we discover that the tomb is empty. Jesus has risen victorious, and today he offers to you and me not only a share in his victory, but also a share in his suffering and death. Victory comes after a struggle! On Pentecost the disciples will be ready to leave their self-imposed quarantine and go forth to proclaim the truth of Jesus’ — and our — resurrection. And hopefully by Pentecost this year, you and I will be able to do the same!