THE LORD HAS RISEN, HALLELUJAH

EASTER SUNDAY - John 20:1-9

The resurrection is part of the mystery of life, which is entangled with the mystery of being, that is the mystery of God, a mystery which goes far beyond our understanding and of which we may see only a glimmer of light. We cannot have full proof of God’s existence and action, but time and again we find plenty of signs that direct us to him. If we pay attention to them, they become overwhelming.

The Risen Christ - on a tomb in my home Parish Church - Tarouca.

The passage of the gospel of John which we read on Easter Sunday starts by putting forward a fact which was verified by witnesses of different background and interests: early in the morning of the first day of the week - that is Sunday - it was discovered that the tomb was empty, that is Jesus’ body was not in the sepulchre anymore. Mary of Magdala got very worried when she discovered that fact and the first thought that came to her mind was that someone had taken away the body of Jesus. She was ready to do anything in her power to find the body. In the gospel of Matthew, we are informed that the guards were instructed to spread the lie that the disciples had stolen the body during the night. So, it is a fact that Sunday morning the body of Jesus was not anymore in the tomb. The possibility of the resurrection did not occur to the disciples, even though Jesus had spoken about it.

Having found the tomb empty, Mary of Magdala reported the fact to the leaders and Peter with the beloved disciple went to the tomb in order to check the facts. Indeed, the body of Jesus was not there, but the beloved disciple was surprised by the order and the harmony that he found. Everything was in the right place. For sure, there was no robbery and nobody had taken away the body in a hurry. There was no messing up. And something clicked in the disciple’s mind: he saw the signs and it dawned on him that Jesus had risen. The gospel summarises it in a very short sentence: “he saw and he believed”. Jesus was alive indeed. He rose from the dead. Touched by the signs, the disciple was able to believe and to make the experience of the Risen Lord.

Let us rejoice with all the disciples who have met with Jesus Christ and who have experienced him alive. And with all the Church, let us sing “Hallelujah”.

           Yangeni Singers from Lubengele Parish, Chililabombwe, Zambia.

I wish everybody a happy and blessed Easter.