2021 Paschal Message of His Eminence, Archbishop Benjamin

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To the Reverend Clergy, Monastics and Faithful of the Diocese of the West:

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..if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith also is empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up — if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:13-22)

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Dearly Beloved: Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!

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St. Paul, in very simple, logical, plain language states the fundamental struggle that we face daily. If there is no resurrection, then Christ is not risen. If Christ is not risen, then our preaching and faith are “empty.” For more than a year, each of us has been questioned by life itself: Is there a resurrection? It has sometimes been hard to see with the difficulties that many people, and even the Church, have endured. No one expected to still be dealing with the fallout from the pandemic today. But underneath it all is the simple fact that Christ is risen, our faith is not futile and “pardon has shown forth from the grave.” (Paschal Sermon of St. John Chrysostom)

As we and the Church inch our way back to “normal” (whatever that is), we must be reminded that “resurrection” is not something that we anticipate, or await only in the future. The very first words that our Lord uttered in His public ministry were “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” To be sure, our hope is that life eternal in the Kingdom is our destination after our own falling asleep. But resurrection in Christ begins for each and every one of us with our deaths in baptism and is experienced in the ongoing life of the Church. That resurrection is to a resurrected and transfigured life here and now. Dying and rising with Him in the waters of baptism is supposed to change the way we live our lives. Walking with Him through His Passion and then Cross allows us to die with Him. There is no other path to resurrection. The various sufferings and “crucifixions” that we have endured, are enduring, and will endure in life purify us and open us to the new life in His Resurrection.

More than anything else, the Resurrection of Christ, and our experience of that resurrection, pierce the struggles and difficulties of life with light and hope. To focus on the risen Christ is to know His love. One who knows the resurrected Son of God sees His hand, will, and care in the various moments of life, both difficult and easy. But knowing Him requires discernment. Have we used the past year to move away from Him and the Church or closer? Have we grown accustomed to “watching” Church instead of “being” Church? Have we feared a virus that can kill our bodies more than the demons that can kill our souls? St. Paul does remind us that “in Christ all shall be made alive.” The liberation that comes with knowing the risen Christ can only be experienced by those who recognize they have been imprisoned.

As we continue back and forth from Bethany to Jerusalem with our Lord during Passion Week, may our fears and concerns all be assuaged by the knowledge that we will, on that Day without end, come to the Empty Tomb. May the joy, peace and light of the Resurrection fill each of your hearts and souls and carry us through whatever remains of these difficult times.

Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!

Yours in the risen Christ,

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†Benjamin
Archbishop of San Francisco