The Easter Homily of Archbishop Nichols of Westminster

Posted by Kendall Harmon

Often the coming of Jesus into this world is spoken of as his leaving his Godhead to enter into our mortal world. His rising from the dead is seen as his return to the glory of God. And this is true. But sometimes, hidden in this thought, is the idea that Jesus took on our messy humanity as an unfortunate condition of his mission in our world and on his return he leaves all its messiness behind. But this is not so. Jesus comes to our world as the act of God’s love. He enters our flesh not as a burden to his Godhead but as an expression of the deepest nature of all that God has made, for God saw it and it was good. And in returning to his Father, Jesus does not strip away his humanity as if it were a source of impurity. No, he rises in and with his body. He carries it home. And with his risen body he carries home all of the created order, which has its being through him, the Eternal Word. Jesus, we are told, loves ‘his own’ even to the end, even though ‘his own’ would not accept him. But in his rising from the dead, in his own homecoming, each one of us also finds our way home opened and clearly marked out.

We may often be tempted to think of our flesh, our humanity, as the part of us that we must go beyond, which we must somehow reject. But Jesus does not do that. Rather, he raises it up to new life.

Only in this light do we see our physical world correctly....

Read it all.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Church Year / Liturgical Seasons • Easter • Parish Ministry • Ministry of the Ordained • * International News & Commentary • England / UK • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Roman Catholic

1 Comments
Posted April 27, 2011 at 6:10 pm [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]



1. Paula Loughlin wrote:

From the sermon:
“For me, all that gives me lasting joy, all that really moves my soul and inspires hope and confidence within me, all that is marked by true beauty, is all rooted in the mystery of God, and in that mystery of God made visible in Christ. “

Amen, amen and amen.  Thanks for posting this article.

April 27, 10:42 pm | [comment link]
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