Happy Easter! He is Risen!
In all four of the Gospels, as the Resurrection is “reported,” someone goes into the tomb. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all recalled the women who went in. John recalled that it was Peter and the Beloved Disciple. They all went in, and they all came out, just like Jesus went in and came out. Our proclamation of the Resurrection today cannot be simply a repetition of these ancient “reports” about Jesus. We must confirm from our own experience that what goes into a tomb will come out. When that happens, it is a new day, a new beginning. A new man or woman emerges from a tomb – full of life, promise, and hope.
Over and over again in His ministry, Jesus spoke about the need to go into the tomb. “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains a single grain, but, if it dies….” you know the rest. “Whoever wants to keep their lives must lose their lives,” He said. Yet, it’s not just “talk” about this; there is plenty of “action” as well. Lazarus literally went into a tomb, and he came out as a living testimony to the power of Jesus. A widow’s dead son was raised up and restored to his mother and the bystanders were struck with awe. The daughter of Jairus was dead and being mourned, but (at Jesus’ command) she got up, leaving everyone amazed.
What does the tomb have to do with us? For most of us, the coronavirus has been like the stone covering the entrance of the tomb, a big stone trapping us in darkness. It has kept us from living fully, kept us from joy, kept us from realizing who we really are and how God blesses us. The virus, however, is not the only stone holding us back. For some of us, the stone is resentment and anger, which keep us in the dark. Or maybe doubt and fear keep us in a tomb of isolation and loneliness. Maybe it is selfishness and pride that hold us back, leaving us helpless in a fragmented and broken society. The Good News we proclaim today is about stones being rolled back and the rising, not only of Jesus, but all of us – into the light of a new day! The news is really as much about us as it is about Jesus.
So, getting back to the Gospel accounts, they always report the “resurrection event” in what is called the passive voice. “The stone was rolled way” they say. Does this mean that it was moved from the inside? Is it possible that the love inside the tomb was so great that it simply, but miraculously, pushed the stone away? In whatever way the miracle happened, the stone had to go! The same is true for us: whatever is holding us back has to go!
Perhaps the love of Jesus Himself will push aside the stones which try to keep us in our various tombs. Will we allow Him to free us and restore our hope? Then, strengthened by that hope, we too can step out and start a new day. This, in the end, is what we proclaim today: not just that Jesus has risen from the dead, but that He calls us out of our tombs and into the light of a new day. In which case, as we have said and sung repeatedly, “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad.”
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In his Easter homily, Fr. Mark makes reference to the advice given by “the young man” (an angel in disguise) in Mark 16: “Do not be amazed.” St. Mark’s Gospel uses the word “amazed” 24 times in just 16 chapters. The crowds are (naturally and persistently) amazed at Jesus’ teaching, at His healing power, and at His miraculous works. Why, then, would an angel tell the women at the tomb “Do not be amazed?” He does so in large part because “amazement” is the response of on-lookers, audience members, or spectators. Amazement can leave one without need of responding in any practical way. The point of the final chapter of St. Mark’s Gospel (and the angel’s advice) is this: it is now time to do something about that amazement! To stand in awe before the Lord’s rising is a good first step, but action is now required. Sharing the Gospel, caring for the poor, feeding the hungry, consoling the sorrowful … these and many more “responses” to His rising are now in order. So, let us be amazed and let us get to work! Jesus is risen, what are we going to do in response?
