Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord

April 12, 2020

Readings:

First Reading: Acts 10: 3a, 37-43

Psalm 118 “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.”

Second Reading: Colossians 3: 1-4 (or 1 Corinthians 5: 6b-8)

Gospel reading according to John 20: 1-9

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Homily: Empty Tomb and the burial cloths

As early as the first day of the week, after Sabbath, Mary Magdalene was running, and sometimes sneaking in the dark, so that nobody can recognized her or saw her, going to the tomb where Jesus was buried.  “On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb” (John 20: 1).  It was still dark and yet she came to the burial place and saw the stone that covered the tomb was rolled up and removed.

In trembling fear and worry that something happened to the body of Jesus, she ran to the place where Simon Peter and the beloved disciple John were hiding, and told what she discovered.  “So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, ‵They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him′.” (John 20: 2).  She told them that somebody took the body of Jesus and put him in hiding place. Maybe Mary Magdalene heard this fake news spread by the chief priests and elders that the disciples of him took his body and spread the news that he was resurrected.  But now, with courage to face the Jews who were looking for them and with enthusiasm of the news brought by Mary, their fear was gone and they came out to where they were hiding.  “So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.  They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first, he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in” (John 20: 3-5).  Peter and John run towards the tomb, and John because he was still young run faster than Peter and reached the tomb but did not enter into it for the respect to Peter their leader.  He just peeped in and bent down and saw the burial cloths there but did not enter.  And when Peter arrived in the place where Jesus was buried, he entered immediately.  “When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place” (John 20: 6-7).  He saw the burial cloths folded and arranged in its place, even the head cover was folded property and arranged and place in a separate location.

Afterwards, the beloved disciple John entered the tomb and saw everything and believed. “Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed” (John 20: 8).  John, after seeing the empty tomb and how the burial cloths and head cover were arranged properly in two separate places, though no one who would steal the body of Jesus has time to arrange the burial cloths and head covering.  John believed that truly Jesus was resurrected from the dead.  “For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead” (John 20: 9).  Now, more than ever, they believed in the scripture and what the scripture said about the resurrection of the Messiah, of Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God.