Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23
Col 3:1-4
Jn 20:1-9
Easter is the greatest and the most important feast in the Church. The Resurrection of Christ is the basis of our Christian Faith. It is the greatest of the miracles, for it proves that Jesus is God. That is why St. Paul writes: “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain; and your Faith is in vain” (1 Cor 15:14). “Jesus is Lord, he is risen” (Rom 10:9), was the central theme of the preaching of the Apostles because Jesus prophesied His Resurrection as a sign of his Divinity: “Tear down this temple and in three days I will build it again” (Jn 2:19). The founder of no other religion has an empty tomb as Jesus has. Besides, the Jews or the Romans could not disprove Jesus’ Resurrection by presenting the dead body of Jesus. The Apostles and the early Christians were absolutely sure about the Resurrection of Jesus. Otherwise they would not have faced martyrdom for a dead leader lying in the tomb. The existence of a thriving, empire- conquering early Christian Church, bravely facing and surviving three centuries of persecution, supports the truth of Christ’s Resurrection.
In the First Reading, St. Peter shares his own experience of Christ’s Resurrection and its joy with the newly baptized members of Cornelius’ family.
In the Second Reading, St. Paul, converted on the Damascus Road by Jesus from a persecuting Pharisee into a zealous apostle of Jesus, urges his converts to live the new life in the risen Christ to which they were raised by their conversion in order to share in the glory of Christ on His return.
Today’s Gospel explains the empty-tomb-resurrection-experience of Mary Magdalene, Peter and John. Mary Magdalene proclaims her personal experience: “I have seen the Lord.”
Easter is the guarantee of our own resurrection. Jesus assured Martha at the tomb of Lazarus: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me will live even though he dies” (Jn 11:25-26).
Easter is a feast which gives us hope and encouragement in this world of pain, sorrows and tears. It reminds us that life is worth living. It is our belief in the Real Presence of the Risen Jesus in our souls, in His Church, in the Blessed Sacrament and in Heaven that gives meaning to our personal as well as our communal prayer, strength to fight against temptations and freedom from unnecessary worries and fears.
Easter gives us the joyful message that we are a “Resurrection people.” This means that we are not supposed to lie buried in the tomb of our sins, bad habits, dangerous addictions, despair or discouragement. Instead, we are expected to live a joyful and peaceful life, constantly experiencing the living presence of the Risen Lord in all the events of our lives and amid the boredom, suffering, pain and tensions of our day-to-day life.
Our awareness of the all-pervading presence of the Risen Lord in and around us and the strong conviction of our own resurrection help us to control our thoughts, desires, words and behavior. This inspires us to honor our bodies, keeping them holy, pure and free from evil habits and addictions. Our conviction about the presence of the Risen Lord in our neighbors and in all those with whom we come into contact should encourage us to respect them through our loving, humble and selfless service.