3^rd Sunday of Easter : Mass in Hawkhead Cemetery

1. My dear brothers and sisters, we are gathered in this cemetery, made holy by the blessing of the ground in which are interred the mortal remains of the faithful, by the prayers and supplications of  mourners, and by our gathering here for the Eucharistic Sacrifice. We have come here to pray for the repose of the souls of those who have been buried here, especially members of your family, loved ones, friends and all the faithful departed laid to rest in this place. As we remember and pray for the dearly departed, I offer a word of sympathy to those who have been bereaved and who feel the pain of loss, especially if that bereavement is recent. I hope that you have been able to find consolation and hope in your faith and in the support of others.

 2. We cannot forget - indeed it is even more relevant to us who are offering Mass in a cemetery - that we are celebrating the Easter mystery. We are once again grateful for the Apostle Peter’s witness to the kerygma, the message of salvation, that God raised Jesus from the dead three days after he had been crucified, and that God has made Jesus Lord and Saviour. In Jesus’ victory over death, we have the certainty that death will not have the last word in the drama of human existence. Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, we have an unshakeable trust that those who are buried here may enjoy eternal rest and rise again on the last day. And so our affection, our love, and our memory of those who have died are deepened by a confident hope that we will see them again in the joy of the resurrection.

 3. How will we recognise each other in the life of the resurrection? When Jesus showed himself to his disciples for the third time after rising from the dead, they had some difficulty recognising him. In the early morning light on the shores of Lake Tiberias, the risen Jesus called out to his friends who had come back from fishing. They were not sure that it was Jesus. It was John, the disciple Jesus loved, who recognised Jesus and he exclaimed: “It is the Lord.” Peter and the others then recognised who it was. Love is the key to recognition. Love makes us able to recognise the true person. Love admits us to the mystery of another person. And as we possibly know already as we gather in this cemetery and think of our departed loved ones, love is stronger than death. Just as love is the key to life in its fullness now, so I have a notion that love is the key to the life of the resurrection. We know that God is love. In the resurrection we shall see God as He truly is. And in that mystery of love, all doubt and uncertainly will be dispelled, for we shall see each other as God wants us to be and as we truly are.

4. In the meantime, my dear brothers and sisters, we must live our faith in the resurrection. Jesus is risen. He is Lord. God has vindicated his Holy One. Peter tells us that obedience to God, therefore, comes before obedience to men. We continue our efforts to be obedient to God in our lives now as we look forward to the coming of the kingdom, to the fulfilment of God’s purposes and to the resurrection of the dead.

Hawkhead Cemetery

Paisley

22^nd April 2007