Easter Sunday Resurrection of The Lord
The Easter Triduum began last Thursday with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper and it ends today, Easter Sunday. For these past three days we have reflected on the passion, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
Dear friends, on Easter Sunday we have this wonderful reading from John.
Jesus’ crucifixion and death had been witnessed by friends and enemies alike. When Pilate released the body for burial, we know that Jesus had in fact died and that he would have been buried according to the customs.
Mary of Magdala was the first one to arrive at the tomb of Jesus on that morning after. Even though it was still dark, she could see that the stone had been rolled away. Imagine her feelings of desperation as she ran to the two disciples and told them “they have taken the Lord from the tomb and we don’t know where they put him.” Let’s be realistic for a moment: How many of you have had similar feelings of despair when in your own spiritual confusion you ask the same question, “Where is my Lord? I don’t know where Jesus is!”
Let me ask you this: how many times do you sit in the Church and feel like the joy has gone out of your life? All this talk about the Gospel and God’s saving grace sounds like good news for someone else but for me….. I'd like to believe, but it just isn't in me today.
How many times have you approached your faith much the same way Mary did when she went to the tomb that morning, grieving for something lost – like a flickering flame ready to go out at any time..."They have taken the Lord..."
Mary’s first reaction was based on her initial impression. She knew that the body of Jesus was laid in the tomb and now that great big heavy stone had been rolled away. Her fear was that the body of Jesus had been stolen.
Where was Mary’s faith on that early morning? She wasn’t expecting the Resurrection to happen. She had come to pay her respects to the dead, not to look for the living.
Never for a moment did it occur to her to say to Peter and the other disciple, "The tomb is empty! The Lord is not there! He has risen from the dead!" The empty tomb didn’t suggest that. The only possible explanation seemed to be one of human interference, not of divine intervention.
When our faith seems gone have you ever thought that perhaps God is planning something big for you? Can you believe that God may be preparing it to blossom into even greater beauty? This is something that Paul was trying to teach in his ministry. His own belief as reflected in his teachings must have given him hope.
When Mary Magdalene discovered the empty tomb, Peter and John ran to investigate for themselves. John arrived first but he didn’t go in right away, he simply looked in. In the dim light he couldn’t see much. He saw the burial clothes and this made him stop and think about what Mary had reported, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb." But John "… saw and believed."
But he not only saw he understood. Jesus’ natural body of flesh and blood had been changed into a spiritual body, passing through the burial clothes. John’s sight quickly turned to faith. For Peter and the others, it happened later. For Mary, it happened very soon. For Thomas, the doubter, it happened last of all. But it did happen. Jesus said to Thomas, "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."
For the past four weeks Church services have been suspended as the Coronavirus has forced us into a lockdown. Many people have been left wondering, where is my Lord? I don’t know where Jesus is! When will we be able to celebrate the Sacraments again? In our despair, we have to find Jesus. But brothers and sisters, I have good news for you – Jesus lives! He lives inside of you and me and the people we meet. In our spiritual starvation we have had to find new ways to discover Jesus and it will be a joyous moment when we meet our Savior in the Eucharist.
My dear friends, we all have moments of thinking that someone has taken the Lord from us and we do not know where to find him. We don’t need to be ashamed to admit those times. But, in those moments it will help if we call to mind our baptism. In Baptism, we are buried and raised in Christ and become a part of his body. In the Eucharist, we are invited to meet Him. We might have moments of thinking we don’t know where the Lord is; but the good news is, the Lord always knows where we are, and he seeks us out, just as he sought out Mary in that garden so long ago. And just like he did with her on that first day, he will call us by name, even when we fail to see him for who he is. And we will find ourselves responding in love and wonder, "I have seen the Lord."
Happy Easter my friends, may the peace and blessing of almighty God, the Father, + the Son and the holy Spirit descend upon you and remain with you for ever and ever. Amen.
Stay at home – stay healthy! Yours Fr. Urs