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Easter Sunday, April 4, 2021: Everything is Holy Now

To view the homily with ASL (American Sign Language), CLICK HERE.

[Sing: Everything is Holy Now]

 

You might think that today we are concentrating on something that happened over 2,000 years ago . . . the resurrection of Jesus. That event is nice, it’s cute. But we’re here for something more than that.  

 

Sing:

When I was a boy, each week
On Sunday, we would go to church
And pay attention to the priest
He would read the holy word
And consecrate the holy bread
And everyone would kneel and bow
Today the only difference is
Everything is holy now
Everything, everything
Everything is holy now

 

You see, when we only focus on what happened at the tomb, we miss the whole point. Or focusing on only the last three days of Jesus’ life, as if nothing before that made any difference. That his ONLY purpose was to die and rise.

 

But no. Jesus came to “wake us up!” To recognize that holiness is not just in an empty tomb, in the bible, in a church, or even JUST in the Sacraments. Of course holiness is in those elements. But because of God’s love for us, because of Jesus’s life with us, because of the Holy Spirit in us . . . everything, everything is holy now.

 

When I was in Sunday school
We would learn about the time
Moses split the sea in two
Jesus made the water wine
And I remember feeling sad
That miracles don t happen still
But now I can t keep track
Cause everything s a miracle
Everything, Everything
Everything s a miracle

Wine from water is not so small
But an even better magic trick
Is that anything is here at all
So the challenging thing becomes
Not to look for miracles
But finding where there isn’t one

 

Theologian Karl Rahner was once asked whether he believed in miracles. He said, “I don’t believe in them. I rely on them to get me through daily life!” You see, too often we reduce miracles to a magic trick. And there have been some impressive magic tricks that have occurred with Jesus and since then. A miracle is more than AN event. It is an awakening to the deeper presence of God, to the deeper reality that there is always hope (the story never ends on the cross. For we are always called, invited to go bigger.   And we may try to limit God’s grace by this one little magic trick, or this one specific healing or change. But God is always bigger.

 

  • Just as being Pro-Life is bigger than being Pro-Birth.
  • Just as the Chovin trial is bigger than one man’s regrettable action.
  • Just as what happened at the tomb was bigger than only Jesus being resurrected . . . it was our resurrection also.

 

When holy water was rare at best
It barely wet my fingertips
But now I have to hold my breath
Like I m swimming in a sea of it
It used to be a world half there
Heaven s second rate hand-me-down
But I walk it with a reverent air
Cause everything is holy now
Everything, everything
Everything is holy now

 

Wine from water is not so small
But an even better magic trick
Is that anything is here at all
So the challenging thing becomes
Not to look for miracles
But finding where there isn’t one

 

 

  • And that harsh comment that you received a while back . . . it wasn’t about you, it was about that person’s own woundedness.
  • And those relatives that disagree with your politics, it’s not about being right or wrong it’s recognizing that we are all trying to act with the best interest of this country.
  • And wearing a mask isn’t about your rights or freedom, it’s about doing what’s right for others.

 

And everything is waiting for you to realize its holiness.   Everything! Yes, even that jerk at work, that moron at school, that cloudy day, that sickness, that cancer, that death . . . all are inviting us to “roll back the stones” of your judgements, and narrow-mindedness and limiting God’s grace.

 

For there are holy people who don’t go to church.

For there are holy people who have dark skin, or speak in the different language.

For there are holy creatures who have 4 legs, or wings, or fins.

 

The stone was rolled back so that we all could RISE UP and WAKE UP to realize our own holiness.   So here’s a question for you to ponder this week . . . “What would you do if you weren’t afraid.”

 

Everything is holy now
Everything, everything
Everything is holy now (repeat 3 times)

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