Ac 10:34a, 37-43/ Col 3:1-4 or 1 Cor 5, 6b-8/ Jn 20:1-9
One of the most popular computer games is Angry Birds.
It is popular but also very time absorbing and addictive.
The story behind the game is actually quite simple.
The birds laid their eggs and were very happy about it.
But the green pigs saw the eggs and stole it when the birds were not watching.
The birds were shocked and were angry and went after the pigs to get back their eggs.
The pigs ran and took cover in every possible setting.
The birds used their individual unique abilities to try to break through the pigs' fortifications in order to get the eggs back.
So the game is about slinging the birds into the pigs' cover and to break their fortifications in order to get to the eggs.
A simple story and a simple game and that is what made it so popular.
So what has Angry Birds got to do with an Easter homily?
What has Angry Birds got in common with Easter?
Nothing much actually. Maybe by a long shot, then it could be the eggs.
Because one of the images of Easter is eggs, as in Easter eggs.
Yet the Angry Birds story is also a bit like the Easter story isn't it.
Just like the birds laid their eggs and guarded it preciously, we are also made in the image and likeness of God and created in love.
But just as the green pigs came to steal the eggs, the devil in his wickedness and jealousy came to tempt us, and when we sin, it is like he steals us away for God.
And God wasn't just going to sit there and watch us get eaten away by the devil.
God came to search for us and to rescue us from the devil, just as how the birds went after the pigs to get their eggs back.
God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, who fought with the devil and even had to suffer and die on the cross and be buried.
Yet Jesus did not remain dead and buried.
He rose from the dead, and in rising from the dead, He conquered the devil, He conquered sin and death.
And in rising from the dead, Jesus Christ rescued us from the snare of the devil and saved us from being eaten away by sin and from eternal damnation.
This morning we are going to witness the baptism of 12 babies.
These 12 babies are not just precious to the parents. They are precious to us the parish community. But most importantly they are precious to God.
My dear parents and godparents, God is giving you the responsibility to guard and protect your babies and bring them up in the faith.
Teach them to love God and to love others. Teach them to be beware of the devil and his traps to make us sin and steal us away from God.
Your responsibilities are great, but God's grace will be even greater.
The dangers are there, but God will also be there to protect you and your child.
We can be assured of all this because Jesus Christ rose from the dead to save us and to fulfill God's promise of salvation for us.
Life is not a game, and certainly not a computer game.
When we are not careful, it is not eggs that are stolen.
When we are not careful, it is our lives and the lives of our children that will be stolen and destroyed.
But the Risen Christ has stopped all that. He has crushed the devil and saved us by His resurrection.
Yes, in Christ we are saved. In Christ we will be safe.
Yet we must always renounce the devil and profess our faith in God.
We will be doing that later. And let us do it with the serious conviction of our faith.
It is certainly not a game. In fact, it's about life and death.