ON Easter Sunday morning, Jesus did not quietly rise from the dead, slip out of the tomb and go away. St. Matthew creates a dramatic scene at the tomb where Jesus was buried. Mary of Magdala and another Mary had come to the tomb as daylight approached and suddenly there was a violent earthquake as an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone at the entrance of the tomb and sat on it. He described how the guards who were protecting the tomb were so shaken and so terrified that they were like dead men.
The guards were in the right place but for the wrong motive. They missed the message at the tomb. They did not hear the good news proclaimed by the angel that first Easter morning. While the news was breaking around them, they were asleep. The women on the other hand were not prepared to miss anything. They, too, were shaken up and afraid but they received the assurance of the angel that there was no need to be afraid. The angel was a shining light and daylight had also come. They could see.
The angel knew why the women were there; they were looking for Jesus. Not finding Him there in the tomb would be a great puzzle for them and that was why the angel was sent. Angels are messengers. This particular angel was entrusted with the mission to transmit the Good News of the resurrection. This was, indeed, great news. Could you imagine what it was like when Mary of Magdala and the other Mary heard that Jesus was not there in the tomb for He had risen? He had said it to His disciples more than once that His suffering and death would lead to resurrection on the third day. Now Scripture was being fulfilled and the angel said to the women: ‘Come and see the place where he lay’ (Matt. 28:6).
At that moment the shift took place from death to life. The tomb was for the dead. Jesus who was crucified was not there anymore. He had left the world of the dead. He had risen. The angel was there to help the women in this passage of belief. When John the Evangelist looked into the empty tomb, he said that he saw and he believed. To comprehend the mystery of the resurrection requires faith and so for the women the journey of faith had begun. The empty tomb was not a puzzle but a statement of faith. Jesus is alive.
I enjoy reading the Sequence for Easter Sunday and Easter Week. It is such a powerful witness of faith in the resurrection of Christ. Let me quote the final part of it:
Tell us, Mary: say what thou didst see upon the way.
The tomb the living did enclose;
I saw Christ’s glory as He rose!
The angels there attesting;
Shroud and grave-clothes resting.
Christ, my hope, has risen: He goes before you into Galilee.
That Christ is truly risen from the dead we know.
Victorious king, thy mercy show!
Mary of Magdala and the other Mary responded to the Good News with ‘awe and great joy.’ When we look at something beautiful, we say it’s awesome and when we are confronted by something mysterious, we say it’s awesome. The women had found themselves facing an event that was both beautiful and mysterious. They were now entrusted with this awesome news of great joy. As they ran to tell the disciples the Good News, there was Jesus coming to them.
Already filled with awe and great joy at the greeting of Jesus, the women clasped His feet and did Him homage. Jesus let them hold on to Him. They believed. They saw Him, heard His voice and touched Him. Now they were ready to spread the Good News of the resurrection. They were witnesses of the resurrection. Now it was the Master himself who was sending them to Peter and the disciples with the Good News that He had risen and that they were to meet Him in Galilee. They were the first to be sent after the resurrection of Jesus as apostles and evangelizers. They ran to tell the Good News.
Easter is the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ. Celebrating the resurrection is celebrating life, new life in Christ. Only God in Christ can raise us from the dead. No doctor can give us eternal life that is the fruit of the resurrection but Christ can. This should fill us with awe and great joy.
At Easter, Catholic Christians renew their baptismal promises and thereby declare that we are a people of life. The culture of death is so pervasive today that we need to stand firm in choosing life. Life is precious and should never be cheapened or destroyed. At a global level, this is happening in the staged terrorist attacks that destroy innocent lives. There is also warfare which destroys the lives of individuals and entire families. This is further exacerbated by the creation of a refugee crisis. The use of chemical weapons adds to the atrocities of war and violence in our world today. No one should ever take pleasure in the destruction of human life. Life is sacred and must be respected and cherished.
In Saint Lucia, the Catholic Church has designated this year the Year of the Family. The family is the ‘domestic church’ as well as the sanctuary of life. This means that the family ought to be a safe place for life in all its stages from womb to tomb; from conception to natural death. Presently, however, domestic violence is having a negative impact on family life in Saint Lucia and is of great concern to the Church. Fifty percent of the twenty homicides for the year so far are related to domestic violence. This is violence in the home and in family relationships. We cannot tire in cultivating a culture of life and non-violence at every level of Church life and in the family.
We need to educate our people in conflict resolution and the values of life. So many of the choices people are making today are death choices. We need to call our people to be a people of life, to choose life and to respect the life and dignity of every human being. In this Year of the Family, I would like to see more families choosing life. I would like to see Catholic Christians becoming champions of life; indeed, the entire nation becoming a people of life and cultivating a culture of life and non-violence in our homes, schools and communities. I would like to see all our citizens answering the call to be peacemakers. “Blessed are the peacemakers: they shall be recognized as children of God” (Matt. 5:9). It is time to end domestic violence and, indeed, all violence.
When we choose life we can celebrate life and Easter, the celebration of life, becomes a celebration of joy. Happy Easter.