EASTER SUNDAY, YR C
Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Psalm 118;
Colossians 3:1-4; John 20:1-9
HE IS RISEN INDEED
There are people who teach that Jesus did not die on the cross and therefore did not rise from the dead. They believe that he was taken bodily into heaven by God.
Others believe that Jesus died only in appearance but did not really die. Still others believe that his resurrection was not bodily but only spiritual.
Brothers and sisters, all these claims are false. Jesus himself, in response to the Jews who demanded proof of his authority, said, ‘Destroy this temple and I will raise it up in three days,’ and he was speaking of his body. (John 2:18-22). Jesus, who raised Lazarus from the dead, can raise himself from the dead.
Furthermore, we know that when it comes to the Romans knew how to kill people correctly. It was not possible that the one person they had to properly kill, they would not have done a good job.
We may also consider that Jesus’ disciples were willing to die for the message that Jesus had risen from the dead. The truth is people can willingly die for many causes, but not for what one knows to be a lie. Also, these disciples of Jesus were sceptical in the time Jesus spent with them. They did not show great faith in Jesus, they doubted most of the time. They abandoned him when he was arrested.
But they believed when they saw his risen tomb and then he himself when he appeared in their midst.
In our Gospel today, we hear that when John entered the tomb and saw what was there, he believed. WHAT DID HE BELIEVE?
He and the other disciples had heard all that Jesus taught and had seen his miracles. John especially would have learned more from Jesus than the others. But he had not understood everything.
The empty tomb finally made sense of everything. At that point, the words and deeds of Jesus began to become clearer for John. It opened his eyes to see beyond all the wonderful things Jesus had done. The empty tomb opened John’s eyes to see their meaning. The resurrection of Jesus clarified things in our lives. In it we find the confidence to live our lives in the power of God.
The empty tomb is God’s message that sin and death do not have the last word. When Mary Magdalene went to the tomb, she did not intend to see her risen Lord, but to anoint a dead body. However, she received the shock of her life: the tomb was empty.
The empty tomb became for her a living reality that would transform her life forever. For us too, the resurrection of Jesus is a new beginning. In the resurrection, the sign of death becomes a place of new beginnings. This experience of transformation must give us great confidence.
All is not lost when we place our hope in Jesus.
God bless you.
BY Rev. Fr. Delight Carbonu
