The empty tomb
ON the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple 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.
REFLECTION
HE SAW AND BELIEVED. John’s gospel is best remembered by its opening lines: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John does not simply narrate events that transpired in Jesus’ life. He goes a step further by looking for meaning in everything that Jesus said and did. John allows 60 years to roll by before he puts into writing his gospel and his letters. His real intention is to present Jesus as the glorious Son of God who descended to earth. “We are writing this so that our joy may be complete” (1 Jn 1:4).
John also wants to testify regarding his experience with the Lord Jesus Christ: “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands…” (1 Jn 1:1).
John is overwhelmed with joy as he looks back to how Jesus first called him to become one of his apostles. At the Last Supper, John leaned on Jesus’ chest. Among the apostles, it is only John who will be spared from martyrdom. He will live long enough to tell everyone about Jesus.
John used to be a hothead. He, together with his brother James, wanted to burn the Samaritan town that refused entry to the group of Jesus’ disciples. John, too, was misled into thinking that Jesus was proposing an earthly kingdom, even manipulating his way to the top.
SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2018,” ST. PAULS Philippines, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: books@stpauls.ph; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.