The resurrection of Jesus

WHEN the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint [Jesus]. Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back; it was very large. On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.’ ” REFLECTION HE HAS BEEN RAISED; HE IS NOT HERE. The long liturgy on Easter Vigil mirrors the long wait, despair, and sadness overwhelming the disciples of the crucified and dead Jesus. Despite the wait, what matters in the end is that Jesus overcomes death and rises victorious.

Easter is passing from seeming defeat to victory, from darkness to light, from death to new life. It is the sun slowly disappearing as dusk and night falls, struggling as it were with darkness the whole night, but emerging with its bright rays at the break of dawn. The beginning is scary, but the ending is glorious.

Jesus’ journey to the resurrection goes through pain and suffering and torture, including the feeling of abandonment by his close friends, even by his own heavenly Father. And yet Jesus bears it all in trust and obedience. And once risen from the dead, he forgets what his enemies and his friends have done to him; he can only share with them the good news and the joy, the hope and the peace that his resurrection brings. He rejoins them, to lift them up from won- derment and even disbelief. He helps them awaken from their slumber and sorrow and realize that death does not have the last word.

The world today is enveloped by the darkness of violence, hatred, corruption, and other maladies. The challenge for us disciples is to help our desperate brothers and sisters continue kindling the flicker of hope in their lampstands and realize that God is with them through this long night, suffering with them. It is our role as Christians to be bearers of hope and light.