First Reading – Acts 10:34a, 36-43;
Second Reading – Colossians 3:1-4 or 1 Corinthians 5:6b-8;
Gospel – John 20:1-9
The feast of Easter is celebrating Jesus’ victory over death and mankind’s hope for eternal life. This feast gives us the new hope of our own Resurrection at the end of times and at the same time keeps us one with the living Christ who will be always with us. The theme of today’s Mass includes both proclamation and witness. St Paul tells us that if Jesus is not risen from the dead, our faith be in vain.
In the Gospel Mary Magdalene is asked to go and proclaim the Resurrection to all. To the Disciples the Resurrection was a new experience. It was a total transformation and it gave them a new vision of life. They had been witnesses of his suffering and death and during that time they had remained hidden out of fear. Their hope in Jesus was scattered. The resurrection brought about a complete turnaround and they began boldly to proclaim that Jesus, who died on the Cross, was alive and with them. Later, when they were arrested, persecuted and imprisoned, they rejoiced as they were now even more closely related to the life experience of their Lord through his resurrection. The Easter Sunday was a totally reversal of the image of Good Friday. His death which seemed to be a defeat before the world is now shown as a triumph over sin and death. The Resurrection of Jesus is a mystery which cannot be humanly comprehended. Through it Jesus enters into a new realm of life. He will not die again and his new existence is beyond all understanding. The Risen Jesus enters a completely new way of living. That is why the Gospels are not able to explain the Easter mystery and the Resurrection. They have to use more human terms and speak of the empty tomb, his sudden appearance, eating with them, walking with them, teaching them and commissioning them. One thing is certain that the disciples are aware of his total presence. They know that he is with them and will remain with them. Ultimately Easter is the celebration of the complete and unending love of the Father for the sake of Humanity. He gave back his son to us for humankind with greater love and with the resurrection Jesus will stay with us forever. Today’s Gospel from John draws our attention to the empty tomb as the sign of Jesus’ resurrection to life. It was the first day after Sabbath, first day of the Christian week when Mary Magdalene came to the tomb of Jesus according to the jewish custom to visit the tomb of the beloved after at least three days after the burial. All the way she was preoccupied with the thought “who would turn away the stone for her” ….. For Peter and others, this was the moment of growth in their faith in the resurrection of Jesus. Later it is further clarified as he encountered the disciples on the way to Emmaus where he explained the positive meaning of the sufferings of the Messiah as found in the Old Testament. The resurrection of Jesus brought a new hope in the disciples and transformed their emptiness into a fullness of light. The word, “Jesus is alive!” or “I have seen the Lord!”, were enough to instantly create a great spiritual hunger in their soul. The worldly minds of the disciples suddenly became alerted to the truth. Faith was being reinstated in the Words that Jesus had spoken while He lived on earth. The feast of Easter is the confirmation of our faith. Our faith is deeply rooted and finds its real meaning in the resurrection of Jesus. Our faith tells us that Good Friday and the death of Jesus is not the climax of Holy Week. It is only a path in the achievement of the final resurrection. The cross was the high point of Jesus’ gift of himself to the Father for our sakes and the Father returns the gift of resurrected Jesus to us. Accordingly today’s Mass invites us with the invitation to proclaim the Good News and be witnesses to the risen lord. Easter, however, is not only concerned with recalling the resurrection of Jesus or its impact on the first disciples but also with the meaning of this event for our own lives and for our faith. We are to be Resurrection People: Easter, the feast of the Resurrection, gives us the joyful message that we are a “Resurrection People.” This means that we are not supposed to lie buried in the tomb of our sins, evil habits, and dangerous addictions. It gives us the Good News that no tombs can hold us down any longer – not the tombs of despair, discouragement, doubt, or death itself. Instead, we are expected to live a joyful and peaceful life, constantly experiencing the real Presence of the Risen Lord in all the events of our lives. We need to seek our peace and joy in the Risen Jesus: The living presence of the Risen Lord gives us lasting peace and celestial joy in the face of the boredom, suffering, pain, and tensions of our day-to-day life. “Peace be with you!”(Jn 20:19), was Jesus’ salutation to his disciples at all post-Resurrection appearances.
For the true Christian, every day must be an Easter Day, lived joyfully in the close company of the Risen Lord. We need to remember Easter in our Good Fridays: Easter reminds us that every Good Friday in our lives will have an Easter Sunday, and that Jesus will let us share the power of his Resurrection. Each time we display our love of others, we share in the Resurrection. Each time we face a betrayal of trust and, with God’s grace, forgive the betrayer and forget the offence, we share in the Resurrection of Jesus. Each time we fail in our attempts to ward off temptations – but keep on trying to overcome them – we share in the Resurrection. Each time we continue to hope – even when our hope seems unanswered – we share in the power of Jesus’ Resurrection. In short, the message of Easter is that nothing can destroy us – not pain, sin, rejection, betrayal, or death. Because Christ has conquered all these, we, too, can conquer them — if we put our Faith and trust in Him. We are to be bearers of the Good News of Resurrection power. Resurrection is Good News, but at the same time, it’s sometimes painful because it involves death. Before the power of the Resurrection can take hold in our own lives, we are called to die to sin, to die to self. We may even have to die to our own dreams, so that God can do what He wants to do with our lives. Resurrection is about seeing our world in a new way. Early that Easter morning, Mary Magdalene did not find what she was looking for, the dead body of Jesus. But she found something better than she could have imagined: the Risen Jesus. Sometimes, the things we think we need most are not granted to us. What we get instead is an experience of God’s new ways of working in the world. That’s the power of the Resurrection. When those moments come, we must spread the news – just as Mary Magdalene did: “I have seen the Lord!” (Jn 20:18)