EASTER SUNDAY
21 APRIL 2019
There
is a lot of running around in today’s Gospel.
When Mary of Magdala finds the tomb of Jesus empty, she runs to Simon
Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved.
Together they run to the tomb. The
other disciple arrives first. Unlike
Peter, who bears the weight of guilt after denying Jesus three times, he had remained
at the foot of the cross.
In all
their running around, each of them comes to a different conclusion. Mary thinks that someone has stolen the
body. Simon Peter is puzzled, because
the burial cloths are neatly laid aside.
He probably remembers Jesus calling Lazarus from the tomb and telling
the onlookers to unwrap him. The other
disciple sees and believes. Without
Peter’s guilt, he is quicker to remember the Lord’s speaking of his passion,
death, and resurrection. He realizes
that the burial cloths represent a completely new reality.
On that
first Easter Sunday, all three will come to believe that Jesus had been raised
from the dead. When she returns to the
tomb, situated in a garden, Mary Magdalene thinks that Jesus is the
gardener. When he calls her by her
familiar name, she recognizes him as the risen Christ. Later that evening, he will break through the
locked doors, show the disciples the wounds of his crucifixion, and give them
the gift of peace. Simon Peter and the
disciple whom Jesus loved would come to understand the deeper significance of
the burial cloths left in the garden tomb.
He had reversed the curse brought upon the human race by the sin of Adam
and Eve. Having been kicked out of the
garden, they covered their shame at losing the intended intimacy with God. Having conquered the power of sin and death,
Jesus is covered with glory.
Most of us
have done our share of running around on this Easter Sunday. You parents have probably been running around
to corral your children and haul them here to church. Many of us have been running around to get
ready for the feasting of Easter. Fortunately,
our running around has brought us here to Easter Sunday Mass. We are here, because we trust the witness of
those earliest believers. The actual
resurrection of Jesus Christ was an intensely private event that no one
experienced firsthand. Like the fire we
blessed at last night’s Easter Vigil that broke the darkness of the night, the
bright light of the resurrection dispelled the darkness of that tomb. But no one saw it. Like those three original witnesses, we too
may be at different places in our faith.
But as we open our eyes of faith to see more clearly, we hear the Lord
speaking to us in his Word. And we
encounter his real presence when he feeds us with his Body and Blood.
In the
Gospel of John, the identity of the “disciple whom Jesus loved” is never
revealed. That is because John wants each
of us to see ourselves as the “disciple whom Jesus loves,” or “the beloved
disciple.” As the Lord’s beloved
disciples, we are probably at different places in our faith. But we are here to renew our faith. The resurrection of Jesus Christ changes
everything in at least three ways. First,
the resurrection of Jesus Christ affects the certainty of death which awaits
every single one of us. Because of the
resurrection, death is not the end. Second,
the resurrection of Jesus Christ means that tyrants do not have the last
word. The imperial Roman occupiers of
Jerusalem thought that they had the last word when they executed Jesus of
Nazareth in such a cruel way. They were
wrong! Finally, the resurrection of
Jesus Christ invites us to follow Saint Paul’s advice: now is the time to throw out the old leaven
of malice and wickedness. That is why we
now renew our baptismal promises. We
renew our intention to resist Satan’s lies.
Power, control, and focus on self will not be the ultimate winners. Dying to self, sacrificial love, and
self-giving efforts will bring new life in Christ. That is the promise of the resurrection of
Jesus Christ, which we celebrate today.
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