In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
This is the day that the Lord has made,
Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Hallelujah.
1. Let us open our hearts to receive God’s Word
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. (Jn 20, 1-9)
i. Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.
This is not how she had left it!
Mary of Magdala was there. She had seen them killing Him!
She knew where they buried Him.
Is this another loss? Will they also take away her opportunity to grieve?
The tomb is no longer the same! And where have they placed our Lord?
Should she despair? Or search deeper …
together with Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved?
Reflect:
Where are you being called to explore more?
ii. Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb … He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there … [Peter] went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there.
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus
had taken the body of Jesus
wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths,
“according to the burial custom of the Jews.” (Jn 19,40)
Now Peter and the other disciple saw these linen cloths
“lying there”.
What does this mean? Are they no longer necessary?
So God is not buried?
Reflect:
Where do you see signs indicating a future rather than a burial?
iii. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed.
Now it’s no longer dark!
The sun is about to rise … the first rays whisper
“it’s the first day
of the week that no longer leads to the tomb!”
The future is woven by these disciples!
It’s not enough to be like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus
who find the courage to ask for the body of Jesus to bury it
just when those in power think He’s no longer a threat!
But disciples like Mary of Magdala who raise essential questions:
“They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,
and we do not know where they have laid him”;
like Peter who sees the signs of a buried past and turns around towards new life;
like the other disciple who believes.
Now that they have bowed down and entered the empty tomb
they come out without fear to live the life, choices and love of the One who is alive
even when they run the risk of being treated like Him!
Reflect:
“Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” (Rm 6,4) What does this mean for your life?
4. Our Father
Thanks to Fr Jimmy Bonnici for this reflection