One With The Lord is Majority

HOMILY FOR HOLY SATURDAY 26TH OF MARCH, 2016. YEAR C

Preamble:

Dear friends please repeat these words after me;
Stay with me Lord Jesus, as I give you my mind, may your word never depart from me.
Stay with me Lord Jesus, as I give you my ears, help me listen and obey your voice.
Stay with me Lord Jesus, as I give you my heart, help me welcome you always.
Holy Spirit, rekindle in me the fire of your love. Amen.

What has happened? What is happening? Why are we here? Shhhhhhh…there is great silence over the earth. Why the silence? Silence because the king of kings sleeps; the earth was in terror and was still, because God slept in the flesh and raised to life those who were sleeping from the ages. God has died in the flesh, and the underworld has trembled.

It trembled because he went into the underworld holding his victorious weapon-the cross. When Adam saw this, he strikes his breast in terror and calls out to all: “My Lord be with you all.” And Christ in reply says to Adam: “and with your spirit.” And grasping Adam’s hand, he raised him up and said: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.”

Awake he cries out to the sleeping man who has been held hostage for ages-as the king of glory and the lord of the living and the dead. Psalm 24 echoes this powerfully when he says “the Lord’s is the earth and its fullness, the world and all its peoples. It is he who set it on the seas; on the waters he made it firm.”

Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? The man with clean hands and pure heart, who desires not worthless things, who has not sworn so as to deceive his neighbor.

He shall receive blessings from the Lord and reward from the God who saves him. Such are the men who seek him, seek the face of the God of Jacob.

He says: O Gates; lift high your heads; grow higher, ancient doors. Let him enter, the king of glory.

Who is the king of glory? The Lord, the mighty, the valiant, the Lord, the valiant in war.

O gates, lift high your heads; grow higher, ancient doors. Let him enter, the king of glory! Who is he, the king of glory? He, the Lord of armies, he is the king of glory.

He is our God and we his people the flock that is led by his hands. He is our God who for our sake became man like us in every way but did not sin. He is our freedom provider who for our sake and our descendants now speaks and commands with great authority-proclaiming freedom to those who have been held captive by satanic powers and have been in bondage:-“come forth, and those in darkness: have light-light that shines brighter than the Sun, and those who sleep in death-rise.”

This rising is not a rising into confusion or chaos or damnation but a rising into eternity-into the presence of God-into joy where pain is no more, into sharing his blessedness.

As one who has the power and authority-the life of every soul, the sustainer-he commands-“awake, sleeper, I have not made you to be held a prisoner in the underworld. Arise child of the most high from the dead; for I am the life of the dead. Arise, O man, work of my hands-arise, you who were fashioned in my image.

Rise, let us go forth; for you in me and I in you, together we are undivided person.”

Who can accuse us if the Lord is with us? For he is our great defender, our fortress, our pillar of cloud by day and cloud of fire by night who leads us to the very end. His blood is that which purifies, and pleads more insistently than the blood of Abel’s, his sacrifice was once and for all not like the sacrifice of the Old Levitical priesthood of sacrificing rams and lambs. His death has signaled a new beginning for you and me - a new entrance into his presence and been in his presence no one can stampede our joy.

He tells us, It was for you O man that I became man without help, free among the dead; for you, who left a garden; I was handed over to the Jews from a garden and crucified in a garden. Look at the spittle on my face, which I received because of you and I, in order to restore us to that first divine inbreathing at creation.

See the blows on my cheeks, which I accepted in order to refashion your distorted form to my image.

See the scourging of my back he tells us, which I accepted in order to disperse the load of your sins which was laid upon your back. See my hands nailed to the tree for a good purpose, for you, who stretched out your hand to the tree for an evil one.

See he says further, I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side, for you O Man, who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side healed the pain of your side: my sleep will release you from your sleep in Hades; my sword has checked the sword which was turned against you.

Who can condemn you O man?-for the glory of God is that you be fully alive and come to share in his eternity. He says rise for no one can condemn you any longer-it is finished because I have bore your sin and shame-rise O man, rise O child and let us go into the joy of been in the presence of the Lord. The enemy brought you out of the land of paradise; I will reinstate you, no longer in paradise, but on the throne of heaven.

I denied you the tree of life, which was a figure, but now I myself am united to you, I who am life per excellon-who can condemn you. I have posted the cherubim to worship you as they would worship God.

The cherubim throne has been prepared, the bearers are ready and waiting, the bridal chamber is in order, the food is provided, the everlasting houses and rooms are in readiness, the treasures of good things have been opened; the kingdom of heaven has been prepared before the ages.

Does this not speak to us about one with the Lord is majority?

For Abraham it was blessings unto him and his later generations of which you and I are accounted as favoured and blessed.
For Sarah, Elizabeth, Hannah, he turned their shame into joy of motherhood
For Abel, it was the acceptance of his sacrifice and the vindication of his blood which Cain took away.
For Noah, it was a vindication of righteousness that when one is steadfast and faithful to the lord, the Lord is moved to save such a person as he saved Noah and his household from the waters that destroyed the world.
For Joseph, it was favour which turned bitterness, hatred and jealous by lifting him from prison to the palace and made him second in command to pharaoh-this day the Lord will do that for you and your family in the name of Jesus.
For Moses, it was victory over pharaoh and his chariots at the red sea. It was also victory over the Amalekites.
For Joshua who was considered indomitable, it was victory over the wall of Jericho such that they came tumbling down.
For Gideon he is the power that conquered the Midianites
For Samson it was victory over the philistines such that he was able to kill more philistines in his death than life time.
For David, it was victory over Goliath who trusted and boasted in his strength.
For Elijah it was an occasion of victory over Jezebel and the 450 false prophets of Baal. It was also an occasion to provide for the widow of Zarapeth
For Elisha the power of the Lord flowed through him as his dead body brought back to life a dead man.
For Susanna it was shame and disgrace to those who conspired against her-men who tried to defile her purity.
For Esther and Modeccai, it was victory over Haman that sought to wipe out the history of the Israelite nation
For Daniel it was victory over those who conspired against him and had him throne into the lion’s den-the lord shut the mouth of the lions such that their bodies became a sleeping bed for Daniel and friends of Daniel that comforted him in the time of distress.
For Shedrack, Meshach and Abednego, he was the fourth man in the fire that turned the heat of the fire into warm atmosphere.
For Ezekiel, he is the breathe of God that brought to life the dry bones.
For peter he is the power that restored the blind man at the beautiful gate.
For Paul, it was the dramatic experience of the Lord that changed his approach.
For Paul and Silas he is the power that shattered the shackles off their feet.

Friends what else can we think of or what more evidence do we need if not the evidence of the cross and the emptiness of the Tomb that Christ is risen from the dead. That no matter the struggles we are going through in life, one with God is Majority we are never without a friend, we are not alone, he is with us, he is our resurrection song-halleluiah he arose.

He is our joy and the cause of our joy-two words that are one and the same thing captured in the one saving plan for man. He is our joy because his presence takes off sorrow and replaces it with lasting peace. His presence after his resurrection brought back peace to the community of believers including you and I. His presence takes away bitterness, strife, greed, hatred, injustice and prejudice, chaos, if one truly believes and comes to him.

He is the cause of our Joy-meaning his resurrection is the reason why we are been called Christians today-the reason we are gathered here.

Friends he is our strength and one who gives us new life-a life which our catechumens would receive firstly in the waters of baptism; a sacrament that purifies and washes us clean-remember purity is the gift of the Lord and we can only become pure if we identify ourselves with him always.

The waters of baptism would purify as it were these catechumens as they step forward today into Jordan as Jesus did during his earthly life where he received baptism from John the Baptist-a gesture showing us that he identified with us in our filthiness so that dying with him, we die to sin and rising to him we rise to life.

With the waters of baptism, these sons and daughters of ours are washed clean from original sin now making them sharers in the life of grace and receive the spirit of the Lord which makes us cry Abba Father. Thus they now have that royal privilege- a privilege to participate at the table of the Lord-the Eucharist.

The Oil of catechumen frees them from the power of evil, while the Holy Oil of Chrism configures them to Christ the son of the living God. With these oils they have no business with the kingdom of darkness and are to always embrace the sacrament of reconciliation each time they have the presence of sin in their lives.

Our catechumens also would receive the sacrament of Holy Communion which is the first time ever they would participate at the table of the Lord. They are welcomed into the joy of sharing the Eucharistic meal which renews and nourishes us each time we approach. Dear catechumens the life of grace is been given to you, guide it jealousy and do not allow the evil one to snatch this precious gift from you. Make out time to always go for confession whenever you fall into sin.

Also do not take the sacrament of reconciliation for granted or become so used to it that you forget the essence of the confessional for you encounter the lord in the person of the priest and the holy Spirit working through him, in him, and with him.

I pray that the grace of the lord may abide with you today. You shall hear the church sing the litany of saints imploring them to pray, and assist you to embrace, and guard jealously this life of grace bestowed upon you.

Beloved may your lips always be purpled with the blood of Christ so that when the devil sees you he will flee from you. Always seek to ask the help the lord in your weakness and never think you can do it alone. The lord is our strength and I pray this day he may renew you and establish his power in you so that it works through you, with you and in you always. I commend you into the hands of our blessed mother to obtain for you great blessings and joy in all you. Amen.

I wish you all a happy easter!!!