Homily for Tuesday of Easter Week

Readings-

• Acts 2: 36-41
• Portions of Psalm 33
• John 20: 11-18

In our Gospel reading today, Mary Magdalene falls down at the feet of her master when he reveals himself to her. “Rabboni!” she cries out… “Teacher!” Mary falls down before the creator of heaven and earth, seeking to follow him ever-more-deeply. But a question is posed – to Mary and to us: by what means do we draw closer to Christ? The plain answer is: by the working of the Holy Spirit.

It is the power of the Spirit, poured out upon all flesh, that makes possible our conversion to Christ, for us to come to the Waters of Baptism, and for us to – if I may paraphrase Peter - “save ourselves from this generation which has gone astray.”

During this Easter Season, as we reflect on both the Resurrection of our Savior and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we will hear many bold and noble accounts of how the power of the Holy Spirit filled the first Christians with courage, strength, conviction, and faith. We too can experience those same benefits today in our own lives when we trust the Holy Spirit to be our guide, our keeper, and our strength.

We do this first and foremost by being ever-conscious of our sins and failings, and by trusting completely in Christ, whom we know to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Revealing our sins to us and placing our entire life into God’s hands is not a simple matter however, and they are both things that, left to our own devices, we could never do alone.

In the book of the prophet Jeremiah (17:9), we are taught “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick…” In the same passage, we are taught that we will be rewarded according to our deeds. If our hearts are desperately wicked, though, of what good will our deeds be? The answer, left to our own strength and abilities, is: absolutely no good whatsoever.

But thanks be to God that we, the people of God, who confess Jesus Christ and trust in him for our salvation are inheritors of the promised indwelling of the Holy Spirit, strengthened against sin and for all good works, so that we may gather together and sit at the feet of our Lord, truly listening to the teaching that is able to save our souls. To Christ our Teacher, our merciful Savior and Risen Lord, be glory, as is justly due, now and forever. Amen!