EASTER SUNDAY - C - 19 LUKE 24. 1-10
The Easter story is the oldest story the Church has told for these past 2000 years. Surprisingly it was not the story of the virgin birth of Christ, as some might think, that initially drew converts to the church.
It was the story of one who had been crucified, dead and buried, then rose again, whose resurrection was witnessed by the women who went to the tomb, later by the Apostles and still later by more than 500 at once.
That is what captured people’s attention and captivated their imagination, which moved them to want to hear and know more about Jesus. All four gospels record what the women discovered on that first Easter morning, albeit with varying details. However, the bottom line is the same.
When the women went to the tomb on the first day of the week carrying spices in their hands to anoint the dead body of Jesus, they were not expecting resurrection. Instead, they found the tomb opened and the body absent.
Today we heard St. Luke’s account of that first Easter. Luke names the women who went to the tomb in order to authenticate their witness. He tells us it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and a group of other women who accompanied them. These were the ones who arrived at the tomb and made the discovery that it was empty.
The women did not hesitate to enter the tomb nor were they frightened that the body of Jesus was not there. They were perplexed, yes, frightened no. Not, that is, until two angels in “dazzling apparel” appeared. Then, the women did become frightened, Luke tells us, and were afraid to look at the two men instead; they bowed their heads to the ground.
What surprised the women was not that the stone had been rolled away, as one might think, or even more so that the tomb was empty, but the angel’s question:” Why do you seek the living among the dead? Do you not remember what he told you while he was still in
The angel’s question jarred the women’s memory once they overcame their fear and allowed the words of Jesus’ promise of his resurrection to resonate in their hearts and minds. Then, with a sense of renewed hope, and astonishment, they returned to deliver the Easter message the angels had surprised them with to the eleven disciples and all those who were with them.
What did it mean to the women on that first Easter morning to enter the empty tomb and to be confronted with the angel’s question? Did they believe Jesus was risen from the dead? What did it mean to the disciples to hear from the women who had gone to the tomb that Jesus Christ was risen from the dead? Did they believe it?
What does it mean to us who are here today and are hearing it proclaimed again? Does our hearing it again mean any more or less to us than when we heard it proclaimed last Easter Sunday? Or the year before? Have we heard it so many times that we are no longer surprised? Do we believe it?
The women obviously were not expecting to find an empty tomb - they carried spices in their hands to anoint the dead boy of Jesus. They obviously did not expect to encounter angelic beings whose presence frightened them.
And they obviously did not expect nor were they prepared to be confronted by the angel’s question as they stood in the darkness and dampness of the empty tomb with spices in their hands: “Why do you seek the living among the dead? Don’t you remember what he said?”
The opening mood, then, of Easter morning is one of surprise, astonishment, fear and confusion. Easter is always a surprise, whether we meet it in celebrating the feast itself, or of the sudden surges of God’s grace overturning tragedy in our own lives or in the world around us.
The Easter message is one of resurrection. Each time we hear it our Hope in the resurrection to eternal life and reunion with those we love is raised anew, or should be. We are Easter Christians and like Lazarus whom Jesus called forth from the darkness of his tomb, we have been called from darkness of our lives into the light of new life. It is the risen Christ’s gift to those who believe in Him.
Sometimes I think we have celebrated so many Easters that we forget the true meaning of Easter. It is all too easy for us to fall back to the edge of the tomb of tragedy and defeat as we make our way through this earthly life, setting aside our faith, and trust in God.
However, we can no more pull ourselves from the edge of the tomb than Lazarus did. It is the risen Christ that reaches into the darkness and takes our hand pulling us into the light of life. That is resurrection.
That is the Easter message, a message that comes to us again and again not just on this day of annual celebration. But each and every time we find ourselves at the edge of the tomb of darkness and despair, pain and sorrow. Jesus Christ risen from the dead brings new life to all who believe in Him who had the power to lay down his life and take it again. By whose death he has destroyed death and made the whole creation new.
This new life, which is ours in Him, is not confined to some future event we call eternal life, which we Hope to one day enjoy in the fullness of the presence of God, but this new life can be ours in the here and now. “I am resurrection and I am life, “Jesus said to Martha at the tomb of her brother Lazarus. “Do you believe this?”
The Easter celebration bids us not only to remember Jesus‘ words spoken to Martha at the tomb of her brother, but also to believe them as Martha did and let them resonate in our hearts and minds. Then, live ours lives accordingly as Easter Christians.
From the beginning the gospel of Jesus Christ is good news not because it chooses to tell us things we did not expect, were not inclined to believe, and could not understand. But because it did.
Think about it. Did we expect the gospel would be something obvious, something we could have dreamed up for ourselves? Are we not yet surprised that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead? Or are we still surprised by the angels’ question? “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”
Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia! AMEN+
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