EEEAS
EASTER SEASON
YEAR C
Easter Vigil [Lk
24:1-12]
19.04.2025
The
Resurrection of Jesus
Readings: OT (1) Gen 1:1-2:2 (2) Gen 22:1-18 (3) Ex 14:15-15:1 (4) Is 54:5-14 (5) Is 55:1-11 (6) Bar 3;9-15.32-4:4 (7) Ez 36:16-28; NT (8) Rom 6:3-11
1. Theme in brief:
To
meet the living Lord in all situations
2. Focus Statement:
As Jesus
is risen, now he is not found among the dead, but among the living; hence, we
have to look for him beyond the tomb, and meet him in faith in all situations
and among all people.
3.
Explanation of the text
Today’s gospel tells us
that Mary Magdalene and other women disciples of Jesus had gone to the tomb with
the spices they had prepared, understandably to anoint Jesus’ body as a sign of love, devotion,
and respect (24:1). When he died, they could not pay their tribute to the body of the Person
whom they loved ardently by performing the last rites of anointing the body
with spices as per Jewish custom. Since the Jewish Sabbath had already begun
soon after Jesus’ burial, the regulations of the Sabbath forbade such work. This
gospel text shows how the fervent and faithful love of the holy women even after his
death was rewarded with the joyful news given
by “two men in dazzling clothes” (presumably angels, 24:4) that he has risen
(24:5). Luke says that they had gone to the tomb on “the first day of the week”
(that is, Sunday as per Jewish calendar) at early dawn (24:1). [Hence Sunday
became the Day
of the (Risen) Lord and Sabbath day for the Christian community,
whereas for the Jews the Sabbath was the last day of the week or the seventh
day (Saturday).]
When
the holy women reached the tomb of Jesus they were perplexed to find the stone rolled away
from the tomb and the body of Jesus missing (24:2-3). The rolling away of the
stone symbolizes the victory of Jesus over the forces of death. By his resurrection,
Jesus has overcome death and has opened up an eternal destiny beyond their
physical death for those who believe in him. The angel of the Lord said to the
women: “Why do you look for the living among the
dead? He is not here, but has risen” (24:5). "He" – that
is, Jesus who lived in Nazareth, walked in a limited region of Palestine,
taught the new Law, suffered under Pontius Pilate, died a shameful death on a
cross and buried in this tomb is not "here." Because he is risen from
the dead, now he is no more limited or confined to the place where they laid him, that
is, to the place
of his burial or to the space of his earthly life. Now he can break all barriers,
walls, limitations and boundaries established by human beings and continue to save anyone
who believes in his name.
Hence,
the women were told by the angels that they were searching for him in the wrong place,
among the dead, as if he was still dead; or in a limited space, as if he was confined
only to the place where they buried him (24:5). Since he is risen, now he is a living reality,
and they can meet him anywhere and in any situation through faith. The
fact that Jesus is not here in the tomb (24:5) can be physically verified by
the women because it is empty, but the fact that he has risen can be believed
only in faith. Their bowing down of heads may symbolize their attempt to fix
their minds only on physical vision.
The
women become the first witnesses and proclaimers of faith in the resurrection of Christ
(24:9). In the beginning the eleven apostles find the news about Jesus’
resurrection incredible and dismiss it as an “idle tale” (24:11) or as they say
in modern English ‘the old wives’ tale’. As Mary said in her Magnificat, truly the
powerful apostles are brought down from their thrones and the lowly women are lifted
up (Lk 1:52).
4.
Application to life
Tonight we have
gathered here to proclaim that Jesus is truly risen; hence he truly lives.
Our Christian life or discipleship is a constant search for the Risen Lord.
Tonight’s gospel text cautions us not to look or search for him among the dead
or not to consider him as though he were a corpse still to be found in the tomb.
After his resurrection, Jesus is not among the dead, but he is among the living.
Hence, in order to find him, just as the women were told by the angels, we
should not limit
our search to the tomb or only to one place or situation. Nor should we limit
our search for him and the need to find him only to this or any other place of
worship (church), prayer, liturgy, or the limited space of our selfish desires. The gospel text
invites us to look for or seek the Risen Lord away from the tomb in all
situations of our life – in our joys and sorrows, daily problems and struggles,
crises, calamities, trials, risks, disappointments and frustrations. We have to
seek him in faith and discover him in the midst of our lives. We
have to recognise him as he speaks to us in the Scriptures and comes to us as
our spiritual food in the Eucharist.
If we
believe that Jesus is alive, for us he is not just a hero or a great historical
figure, but a living presence. His presence cannot be reduced
merely to the pages of the Bible or any religious book, or a statue in a
church, or to a tabernacle. He is no more in the tomb; he is a living reality.
Now we are not following just an idea or ideology, a dream or an
imagination, but a Living Person. It is not just enough to study
him or know him theoretically, but because he lives, we can meet
him in faith in all situations. Yes, if we really believe this, we shall feel
his presence as he walks with us on our mountains of joy and in our valleys of
tears, in our hardships, in our doubts and in all that happens to us.
Because
Jesus lives, and if we firmly believe in his living presence, we can experience
his peace
in the midst of our disturbed and anxious minds, his providence in our
deprivation, his support in our weakness and his outstretched arms in our fall
and failures. Because he lives, we merely do not teach lessons from the life of
a Great Teacher; we proclaim and testify to the world what we have ‘seen’ or
experienced when we are touched by his powerful presence in the midst of our
life-situations (cf. 1 Jn 1:1-2). He is in our Bethlehems; he is in our
Gethsemanes; he is in our Golgothas; he is on our
From
the testimony
of the resurrection given by the devout women, we come to know that those who ‘seek’
Jesus with love, devotion and faith, encounter him in impossible situations, even in
death. The faithful love of the women disciples is a great inspiration to all of us not to
give up our good initiatives/ welfare activities/ service when we meet hurdles/
opposition/ discouragement. These women prove the old traditional saying: “Two
men looked through the prison bars; one saw mud, the other stars.” When the
rest of them gave up, the women remained faithful, hoping something good
against all hopes. When others saw mud, they looked beyond it by remaining
faithful to their Master.
As
the women initially responded to the sight of empty tomb by bowing their faces
to the ground, if our gaze is fixed only on the tomb, that is exclusively on material
things and worldly concerns, and if we fail to see him beyond the ‘tomb’ built
by our selfishness and attachment to these things, then he is no more
living for us. If we live exclusively for money, higher and higher
status, more and more prestige, greater and greater income, and fail to see
anything beyond
this ‘tomb,’ then we are dead, that is, just existing rather than truly living.
If we have no aim or cause to live and die for, then we die several times
before we really die. Yes, the tomb is empty; we will not find him there. We will not
find him where forces of death are at work; where a culture of death, violence
and ‘might-is-right’ policy rules. We will not find him where greed, corruption
and dishonesty rule. Nor will we find him only in ‘
Today’s
gospel invites us to look for the presence of the Risen Lord speciality among
the marginalized
people in our globalized and pluralistic world. We have to ‘seek’ him in a
more committed manner among the poor, the sick, the underprivileged, the
deprived, the suffering and the downtrodden and make the Risen Lord’s face of
mercy shine on them by doing works of mercy for such people. He wants that
we show a preferential
love for the poor and the marginalized by our service to them. We
make his presence active and striking when we continue his mission to bring life
to those who are in death-like situations. By doing works of mercy for the
underprivileged and the downtrodden we bring them the joy of the resurrection. Then
“the tender
mercy of our God” will break upon those who “sit in darkness and in
the shadow
of death” (Lk 1:78-79).
The
message of Easter is the message of God’s mercy winning a victory over the forces of
hatred, intolerance
and violence.
There forces are the forces of darkness and death. The question is whether
we are and shall remain faithful to his mission of doing works of mercy in the
midst of darkness and shadows of death. It is through our deeds of mercy done
to the least ones, the dawn of the resurrection will break upon them (Lk 1:78).
Those
who think that it is pointless to live and pointless to die with
hope are already dead. For them the stone blocking the tomb is not yet rolled away. Besides,
our lack of faith, sin or hardheartedness and self-centredness could be
considered as the stones that block our vision of the Risen Lord. Today’s
gospel invites us to roll away these obstructing stones. If we
believe that Jesus is really living, others can notice it in our lives. After
all, the fact of the resurrection was established by the effect it had on the
lives of the apostles. They were totally transformed from cowardice to courageous witnesses.
Do people notice the traces of Christ’s living presence in our conduct?-
5. Response to God's Word
Do we
seek the Risen Lord in all situations? Do we have faith enough to recognize the
presence of the Risen Lord? Do we feel that Jesus is risen in us and in the
world we live? What are the effects of Jesus’ living presence on our life and
behaviour? By what signs we can know that Jesus is really living and active in
our homes, neighbourhood and the Church? Have we locked up Jesus in our narrow
and selfish world? Do we ‘see’ Jesus among the poor and the marginalized? Do we
allow the Easter Light to dispel the darkness of sin, and baptismal water to
cleanse us from evil? What are forces of death that rule our life, over which
we need to win a victory with the power of the Risen Lord?
6. A prayer
Risen Lord, open the
eyes of our faith that we may seek you and discover your presence in the midst
of our lives – its problems, trials, struggles, joys and sorrows. Roll away the
obstructing stones which block our vision beyond the limited space of our selfish
desires. Grant that we may recognise you as you speak to us in the Scriptures
and come to us as our spiritual food in the Eucharist. Walk with us Lord, in our
valley of tears, in our hardships, in our doubts and in all that happens to us.
May we experience your support in our weaknesses and your outstretched arms in
our fall and failures. Amen.
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