1st Reading Acts 10: 34a. 37-43
Psalm 118: 1-2, 15c-17, 22-23 (R. 24)
R:// "This is the day the Lord had made; let us rejoice in it and be glad" or Alleluia
2nd Reading Colossians 3:1-4 or 1 Corinthians 5: 6b-8
Gospel John 20: 1-9
THE TOMB IS NOT ENTIRELY EMPTY
This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad (Ps. 118: 24).
Dear friends, the much anticipated day, the day for which we have been preparing for a length of 40 days has finally come. Today is Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord. This Sunday is the mother of all sundays. The other Sundays are "little easters." Our Lord is risen, and this strengthens our hope that the Messiah came and has done the work of redemption. The Lord is truly risen, alleluia.
Let us drink from the treasury of today's Gospel passage from John 20:1-9. This passage is read on every Easter Sunday. What it means is that we would probably have heard about it before. However, anytime the Word of God is read to us, it gives us renewed messages, especially for our time. That is why the Word of God is living and active (Heb. 4:12).
Today, we hear the once-heard narrative from the Gospel according to St. John about the resurrection of the Lord. At any rate, the passage begins by telling us that the event took place "on the first day of the week" (Jn. 20:1). That day is the day which follows the Sabbath, and the Sabbath, from the Jewish order of days, is Saturday. The day spoken about as the first day of the week, therefore, is Sunday. What it should tell us again is that our gathering on this Easter Sunday is to be witnesses to the resurrection. Sunday worship is founded on this resurrection to have occurred on Sunday.
The first thing we should pay attention to is that Mary Magdalene was the first to see that the stone had been taken from the tomb. That will suggest an empty tomb. But, is the tomb really empty? The "empty tomb" is referred to as such because of Christ's body. It is called "empty" precisely because Christ's body is not in it. Even the tomb gained significance because of Christ's body in it. Entirely, the tomb is not empty. There were burial clothes in there. We should begin to see that whatever holds the Body of Christ gains importance and value.
Similarly, we gain importance by having Christ dwell in us. He leaves marks of his presence in us. He leaves the burial clothes behind in us so that we are reminded daily that he is still in and with us. Those clothes are signs of his death and resurrection. The problem is that many of us, like Mary Magdalene, see from afar and conclude that the Lord is not there or he has been stolen. We really never go further to see beyond the rolled stone. Therefore, our convictions degenerate into wrong conclusions.
If Jesus' body had been stolen as Mary fears (Jn. 20:2), and as the guards in Matthew were paid to report (Matthew 28: 11-15), the linen cloths would have disappeared with the body. Instead, the presence of the cloths and their position indicate that the person who was wrapped in them has passed out of them. A thief cannot carry a dead body without its cloth. If he wants to, the clothes would not be at their places to the extent that the facial cloth is folded. The point is that we need to look beyond the fact that the stone is rolled away. We need to look at the evidence of the cloth. When you end up looking at only the rolled stone, you may end up saying that Jesus' body is stolen. Easter is meaningful only if we look beyond the rolled stone.
The second thing we should look at is that we hear of two disciples — Peter and the Beloved Disciple (BD). Because of the way they ran, the Beloved Disciple is traditionally believed to be the younger. He outruns Peter and reaches the tomb first. But Jesus' love for him is not a reckless love that flouts deference to authority as it tends to happen today among some fundamentalists and charismatic groups. The Beloved Disciple possessed the gift of youthful strength and exuberance. That is his gift. It is unarguable that we in the Church today have varied gifts. Those are our individual strengths. Despite your varied gift within the Body of Christ, do not let your gift (strength) make you disobey authority. The Beloved Disciple knew Peter was the leader, and he has the right to confirm anything. He waited for him, despite he reaching the tomb first.
Each of us, endowed with gifts, is to use those gifts, those strengths, to build up the faith in obedience in the one and undivided Body of Christ, not to further divide the body of Christ by seccession in order to form our own bodies. Let us note that a division within the Body of Christ (the Church) and the subsequent multiplication of churches is not only a contradtiom but a daily and continual surrender of Christ to the cross for another crucifixion.
The third detail is that two cloths are mentioned in the passage. There is a cloth in which Jesus' body was wrapped, and there is a cloth that was used to cover Jesus' face (called "sudarion"). There were two things that led up to the sight of the facial cloth. There was the empty tomb, and there was the body cloth. Mary Magdalene saw the stone rolled away and wrongly concluded that Jesus was taken away (was stolen). Peter and the Beloved Disciple saw it and went beyond it to look into the tomb. They both saw the body cloth. The body cloth was not touched by anyone. It remained as it were when they wrapped Jesus' body in it. The author, in saying what Peter saw, added that he saw the facial cloth (or the napkin), which had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself (Jn. 20:7). The Beloved Disciple also went into the tomb and saw the cloth and believed.
What about the facial cloth or napkin? It is the cloth that was used to cover Jesus' face. It was folded or rolled up. Jewish culture has it that whenever a master is that table and eating, when he leaves temporarily, the servant folds up the napkin to show that the master is not done. He will return to the table. The act of folding the facial cloth communicated and affirmed to Peter and the Beloved Disciple that the master will return, and the very fact that his body is not there meant that he has returned. He is risen. That propelled their belief.
Dear friends, it is not enough catching a sight of the stone rolled away. Do not end there. It is better but not conclusive to see the body clothes. What is really the issue is that ensure that you see the folded clothes. That is the ultimate sign of the resurrection. The tomb is empty but not entirely empty. The sign of resurrection lies in the "empty tomb". The tomb is not entirely empty.
Have a blessed and fruitful Easter
Pax et Bonum
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