Church of the Transfiguration – Mt. Tabor
John 20:1-9
Alleluia!! It is a word we have not heard for 40 days. A word missing from any liturgy for the entire season of Lent.
In point of fact, it is actually 2 words, not one. And it comes from Hebrew. The first word HALLELU means ‘praise’ and the second YAH means GOD. It is the root for the Hebrew word for God - YAHWEH. So literally it means “praise God”. But even that doesn’t do it justice. It’s a word of joy, a word used in song, bursting with emotion and happiness! Kind of like when we hear “Praise the Lord!” Obviously it is a most appropriate expression for what we celebrate today – the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus. He who we thought was dead has come back to us risen from the dead!
Not long after they got married, Jaime and Josh, our daughter and son-in-law experienced a time of separation. Josh went off to boot camp for something like 3-4 months. It was a difficult time for them, to be separated from someone you know, you believe in, you love. I can still remember Ginger, Jaime and I travelling down to Alabama for Josh’ graduation ceremony. Throughout the whole program, Jaime sat there fidgeting with nervous energy, her legs going up and down in anticipation; she just couldn’t keep still. And when the ceremony was finally over, she leaped out of her seat like she was shot out of a cannon. She raced down the aisle and flung herself into Josh’s arms. Now that was a reunion! That was a moment of sheer joy and love. That was an ALLELUIA moment!
The one thing I find curious in today’s Gospel, the Gospel for Easter Sunday is – what’s missing? Jesus! All we really have is an empty tomb. Peter, John and the other disciples have all experienced the agony of Jesus’ death, the pain of being separated from the one they love. And yet, Peter and John come to believe that Jesus is risen, not because they have seen Him yet, but because of His absence. The real personal reunion takes place later on in stories we will hear from the Gospel throughout the coming weeks and season of Easter - when the Apostles actually see Jesus, when Mary Magdalene wants to run to him and hug Him, when the disciples on the way to Emmaus find their hearts on fire from speaking with Him. Those are all real ALLELUIA moments – moments of unbridled joy, of faith, of love. That burst of exuberance and joy that causes your hearts to sing!
We all know what it’s like to be separated from friends and family, from the ones we love, especially NOW, but we have to still believe. We have to still love them, even in their absence. And we look forward to when we will see them again, touch them again, and hug them again. We know that, in many ways, our faith and love for them has grown in this time of being apart. Their absence has caused us to understand just how much a part of our lives, how much a part of our heart, they really are. And we know that love and joy will spill out of us when we re-unite.
So too with our Faith – in this time of separation from our parish church, from our parish Mass and Holy Week services, we have all learned how much we miss it, how much more we believe in and love the Eucharist, even in its’ absence. And we all look forward to that moment when the church doors reopen, when we gather together as a community of faith, where we hear the proclamation of the Gospel, when we greet our neighbors with the sign of peace and when we receive the Eucharist.
Now that is what we mean by an ALLELUIA moment! And that is what we celebrate today – a moment of reuniting with our Saviour, with our Christian faith. ALLELUIA!