Sunday 31st of March 2024 - Easter Sunday

Acts 10:34,37-43/ Psalm 117(118)/ Colossians 3:1-4/ John 20:1-9

‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him.’ The words of Mary Magdalen to Peter and the other disciple. On finding the tomb empty with the large stone rolled away from the entrance Mary’s first instinct was not that Jesus had risen from the dead but that someone must have taken his body away. This would be the natural conclusion under the circumstances, and she ran to tell Peter what she had found.

Peter, and the other disciple, on hearing the news ran to the tomb, the other disciple arriving first and deferring to Peter’s leadership role waited for him to enter the tomb first. The linen cloths that had wrapped Jesus’ body where on the ground and the cloth that had covered his head was rolled up separately. It might be thought that the Jewish leaders or the Roman authorities had removed the body of Jesus to stop any claims of resurrection or the mass honouring of the tomb, but this was not the scene of a body having been stolen. If it was why were the grave clothes left behind? Why would the head cloth be rolled up and placed on its own? If the body of Jesus had been removed it might be expected that it would be taken within the burial wrappings.

On entering the tomb, we are told that the other disciple ‘saw and he believed’. Who was this other disciple? Most theories suggest that this disciple, described as the one Jesus loved, the one closest to Jesus at the last supper, and the only disciple present at the crucifixion was John. If this disciple is viewed from a theological angle rather than an historical one, he stands for someone who has a loving, believing and consistent faith in Jesus. We can put ourselves in the place of the beloved disciple. Our love for Jesus brings us to the empty tomb, it allows us to see the discarded funeral clothes, it reminds us of all the prophesies of old and the teachings of Jesus and from all of this we come to believe that Jesus is truly risen from the dead as he said he would be. This belief flows from the love we have in Jesus, a love that develops during our prayer life, and will be ultimately completed when we join Jesus having passed with him through the door of earthly death.

The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles sums up succinctly what we believe about Jesus. It is addressed to a gentile, someone coming to faith from outside of the Jewish tradition. It shows how the church is universal and the Good News of the redemption won by Jesus on the cross is for all not just the chosen people of Israel. It covers the key features of God’s plan to redeem humanity from the fall described in the Garden of Eden. The life and death of Jesus perfectly fulfilled the divine will of God as foretold in scripture. It outlines the ministry of Jesus on earth, tells of his suffering and death, his resurrection, and his appearances after he had risen. Not merely an apparition or internal vision or dream, but a real physical presence, the risen Christ linked fully to the earthly Jesus. This message to Cornelius gives access to the forgiveness won by Jesus to all people.

The message of Easter is one of new life, the main feast of our faith, the one that makes sense of all we believe, explaining the empty tomb and discarded grave clothes. Coming in spring it mirrors the new life we see around us, the easter eggs pointing us towards the hatching of new life. The resurrection of Jesus is the universal statement of what life is. Not a physical earthly existence, often punctuated with pain and suffering, but a new and eternal life in Jesus where every tear is wiped away and suffering and death no longer exist.

The risen Jesus confirms all that he claimed and taught about himself; his life does not end in the painful death of a criminal but with a glorious resurrection, a wonderful victory not a squalid defeat. Jesus was not destroyed by human jealousies, insecurities, or political power. Through the resurrection God has the final word over all human actions, destroying completely the power of sin and death. The resurrection confirms our love of Christ and leads us to faith in our risen Lord and the assurance that we can follow him into eternal life. Easter is at the very centre of our faith fulfilling all the scriptures and the teachings of Jesus.

In the second reading Paul calls us to action. To look for the things of heaven, let our thoughts be on heavenly things not on the frivolous things of the world. Our whole thinking should be seen through the prism of the resurrection, looking towards our heavenly destination with a new vision of life. This does not mean that we live only for the life to come. We exist in the here and now and we have a mission here, to bring the Easter message to a suffering world, much of which has lost its way and is in despair and confusion. This message of a new Easter life is needed by the many disheartened and discouraged around us, the sick and terminally ill, our young people in desperate need of proper role models, the poor, the homeless and the displaced. The message of Easter opens the way to the heavenly banquet where all the troubles of this life will seem as nothing. Through his resurrection Jesus invites all to join him at the ultimate Easter feast, the eternal banquet in heaven.

Let our love for Jesus bring us to faith in the risen Lord as we ponder the empty tomb and discarded grave clothes. May you receive all the blessings that Easter brings.

God Bless Brendan