Easter Sunday – Additional Commentary
1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7and the cloth that had been on Jesus’s head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed, 9for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
1But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they went in they did not find the body. 4While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. 5The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen. 6Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7that the Son of Man must be handed over to the hands of sinners and be crucified and on the third day rise again.” 8Then they remembered his words, 9and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. 10Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. 11But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.
13Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. 18Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” 19He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. 22Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23and when they did not find his body there they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. 24Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see him.” 25Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” 27Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
28As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight. 32They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” 33That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem, and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” 35Then they told what had happened on the road and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Commentary on Acts 10:34,37-43; Colossians 3:1-4 or 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; John 20:1-9 or Luke 24:1-12 (for afternoon Masses, Luke 24:13-35)
If Christ is not risen, then our faith has no meaning. Easter, not Good Friday, is the climax of Holy Week. The resurrection is not just an appendix to Jesus’ death, a “proof” of his divinity.
Jesus leads the way by going through death to a life that can never be taken away from him again. “We know that Christ, being raised from death, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.” And that life is shared with us. “I have come that they may have life, life in abundance”, says Jesus.
Empty tomb
The message of Easter is first communicated by the empty tomb. The death of Jesus was an observable and observed fact by both friends and enemies. No one saw the resurrection. It did not involve resuscitation of a corpse.
The first witnesses that something had happened were women. And what they saw was not Jesus but his empty tomb. They were puzzled and alarmed. Then Peter and the Beloved Disciple go to investigate. They find the empty tomb as the women reported. Peter just sees a loss, the absence of a body. But the other disciple sees with the eyes of one who loves and he sees a void filled with the presence of the Risen One. (Our lives too may seem to be marked by absence and loss but those who see with the eyes of love may see them filled with the presence of the risen Lord.)
The Beloved Disciple sees the empty tomb and believes. He sees what cannot be literally seen. He suddenly understands the teaching of Scripture and the words of Jesus that he must “rise from the dead”. Every disciples who loves Jesus is one who sees—and believes with all his/her heart in a Risen Lord.
Same and different
It is clear from the Gospel accounts that the Risen Jesus is the same person who died on the cross. It is equally clear that he is so different that his followers have difficulty in recognising him. In various post-resurrection scenes he does not even look the same. For Jesus now has the face of Everyone.
He is known and recognised only by faith. The basis of that faith is the fact of the empty tomb and the extraordinary transformation of the disciples. They were not expecting to see their Master again. At the time of his arrest and execution, they had fled in all directions. They were terrified and in hiding.
When they finally did realise that he was still with them, even if in a very different way, they were transformed from fearful people to a group overcome with joy and enthusiasm and afraid of nothing. They were now ready to endure what their Master had gone through, to give their lives for Truth and Love, and many of them did so.
How to find the risen Jesus in our own lives?
How are we to share in all of this? In the reading from 1 Corinthians today we are reminded how at the Jewish Passover the Jews were expected to throw out all the old, leavened bread and to prepare new, unleavened bread. The fermentation caused by the leaven, the yeast, was seen as a kind of corruption. As Paul says, “You must know how even a small amount of yeast is enough to leaven [i.e. corrupt] all the dough”. (Remember the parable Jesus told about a small amount of leaven penetrating the whole batch of dough?)
So, Paul goes on, “Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. Let us celebrate the feast, then, by getting rid of all the old yeast of evil and wickedness, having only the unleavened bread of integrity and truth.” Easter is not only a time for celebration, for bunnies and Easter eggs, for new clothes and fancy bonnets—it is also a time for deep inner renewal.
It is a time to recommit ourselves to the meaning of our Baptism and Confirmation. We need to remember that as we break and share together the unleavened bread of the Eucharist, we share the Body of Christ, and that body embraces both Jesus and the whole community.
Our mandate
Finally, Peter in the First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles speaks of the mandate that follows from the resurrection. He and his fellow disciples are to proclaim the Good News about the Risen Jesus. The Jesus who will give new life to every single person who accepts him as Lord, who accepts him as the Way, Truth and Life. Peter and his fellow disciples are called “apostles”, people sent out on a mission, “ambassadors for Christ”, Paul calls them.
We, too, share that mission. We are not just disciples, followers of Jesus. We are also meant to be his living ambassadors. No one will know about Jesus and what he means for our lives unless we tell them.
Many people got baptised yesterday. Not a single one of them came to the Church without the intervention of some Christian(s) somewhere. The Good News about Jesus is not to be kept a secret. There are many people out there waiting to hear it. They are depending on you and me, members of Christ’s Body, to tell them.
