Reflections
April 7, 2012, 10:24pm
JOHN 20:1-9
On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early
in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from
the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciples
whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the
tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” So Peter and the other
disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other
disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent
down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon
Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial
cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the
burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other
disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and
he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the scripture that
He had to rise from the dead.
REFLECTIONS
He saw and believed. Jesus is alive! He has risen as he said. Jesus
has triumphed over sin and death. Jesus has conquered Satan. What Jesus
foretold is realized. What the Father promised is fulfilled. Jesus has
risen to lead us back to the Father and bring us to heaven.
Jesus’ victory is good news. It means fresh hope, new life, new day for all of us.
The Easter story calls us to believe. The body of Jesus was not
stolen; there was no forcible entry. The burial cloths were left in
proper order. Hence, there is no need to investigate. Jesus has truly
risen. We are called to be witnesses. The apostles did not preach about
the empty tomb. They proclaimed the good news of Jesus’ resurrection.
And they bore witness to it by changed lives. They backed their
preaching with their conversion and showed their witnessing by their
courage to suffer and even die for the name of Jesus.
Easter invites us to witness to the risen Jesus by a life of
hope, commitment, and fidelity to God and to our fellow men and women.
With Jesus let us rise from a life of negativity, cynicism, and
mediocrity. Let us walk — like Mary, Peter, and John — from the
darkness of grief and doubt to the morning of joy and hope.
Let Easter fill my life with love, optimism, hope, and renewed freshness.
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