(My dear) brothers and sisters
My joy is even greater as I’m announcing the Good News faster than any other press agency, TV or radio station. Why? Because the mass-media in Christian countries will simply present Easter as being two days of holiday, the Easter celebration in the Vatican along with the danger of terrorist attacks there. Well, you may say O.K. as the secular mass-media are not made to proclaim the Gospel. And you are right to think that. However, why then , for example, have the national papers in Catholic Poland created a scandal around the gospel of Judah a week before Easter and just a few days after the anniversary of John Paul II’s death? By doing so, they question the authenticity of the Bible. The media are prepared to pay any price for big news in order to sell it later to readers at the media’s profit.
The tomb of Jesus of Nazareth is empty!
1 This morning I have BIG NEWS to tell you for nothing! THE TOMB IS EMPTY! The Man , who was killed by the soldiers of the best army of the ancient world, was definitely dead for three days and this Man is alive and He is very well! If then Jesus of Nazareth is stronger than death, that means He is the Lord of life and death!
And it also means that I can believe the words of Christ, who promised to raise me from the dead with Him. So, I am given a chance to have eternal life! In my mortal body my soul is immortal indeed. Nobody can take away the life of my soul unless I choose to give my soul away to the service of sin.
Who would not feel the gravitation of sin? Indeed, sin pulls us down, even though our soul wants to rise up to God. St Paul said that he wanted to do good, but evil takes over. Here we notice the gravitation of sin. Fortunately, thanks to Jesus, who crushed satan- the father of sin, we are free again and have a chance to become a new person and live Christianity in a new way.
Dear brothers and sisters,
What is Christianity?
- It is not merely a system of morality. God’s commandments are important but Christianity is more than that. Christianity is not just an old and beautiful tradition. Of course, the celebration of Christian feasts is very nice but Christianity is more than that.
- Christianity is not merely a philosophy of life. Of course, it is good if we take it as a rule to treat our neighbour the way we would want to be treated. However, Christianity is more than that.
- Christianity is not a just a nice story which happened a long time ago but reality. Jesus is here and now. He is alive and has an exceptional proposition for you.
- ve a chance to become a new person and live Christianity in a new way.
- Dear brothers and sisters,
3Do you want to become a new person?
You may want to ask “How can I become a new person? What should I do?”
- Firstly, you must admit that you are influenced by the gravitation of sin. Tell Jesus, that you are a sinner. The biggest problem of your life should not be protection against cancer, your promotion at work or the protection of your children against the negative influences of the world. Of course, these are important matters, but your biggest problem should be to avoid sin at any cost, as sin can separate you from your loved ones for ever.
- Secondly, in order for you to become a new person, you must feel the pain caused by the suffering which the Son of God underwent for you and for me. My Creator, instead of receiving my continuous thanksgiving for creating me, suffered because of me. This is a great injustice. Unfortunately, you and I are the authors of this injustice.
- Thirdly, if you want to become a new person, you must make the decision to break with sin. What do I mean? I will give you an example. A certain man was addicted to gambling and he kept going to casinos every weekend. Once he realized that he had become a slave to his addiction, he said to himself: “I have to finish with it. Tomorrow I will stop going to the casino but I will go one last time this evening.” Well, I think, it would be better for him to say “I will always play, but not this evening.” This is the way to stop sinning and to become a new person. How do I go about it? Where do I start? Well, start now!
- Fourthly, in order to become a new person it is good to get rid of what seems to be the root of the sin. What do I mean by that? I mean the avoidance of the occasions that lead to sin. I mean to destroy the source of the magnetic pole, which draws you towards evil. We are all different and have different sensitivity levels. Satan knows this very well. One person cannot stop excessive eating, another gets easily jealous, and someone else has unchaste thoughts. That is why, having become aware of your sins you should get rid of or keep away from what is ultimately the greatest danger to your soul.
I repeat again. In order to become a new person, I first have to admit that I am a sinner and to feel sorry that the Son of Man had to die for me on the cross. And the next thing I should do is to break with and to keep away from the source of the sin, that is, to avoid the occasion to sin.
My dear brothers and sister,
4Today the enemies of the Church do not deny the existence of Jesus.
Today the tendency is to separate the Gospel from everyday life. One day I came out of Palace Pigalle station in Paris and was stopped by a prostitute who invited me to the night club. I said to her I was not interested as I am a Christian. So she answered: “Oh, you are a Christian? O.K. , but it doesn’t mean you can’t have fun!” How many Christians, although baptised, see no connection between living a Christian life and not sinning!
5But this morning we have a chance to become the children of light.
This is marvellous news. In a world ruled by terrorism, power, fear, death and lack of hope, we Christians have the guarantee that nothing can separate us from Christ. What’s more, we owe it to the world to share this news. Christ wants us to tell others that there is water in the desert.
We Christians are happy today, as we are not alone. The Lord Jesus is with us and He sends us into a world which is in such need for hope and peace. No insurance agency, no bank, no investment policy can give you the guarantee of security. Only Jesus can give you peace, which the world cannot give. Amen.