Easter Sunday, April 12
Mark 16:1-7. When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him. Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back; it was very large. On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him.”
| We have
come through the dark night of Lent, descending to the depths of Good Friday –
Jesus’ humiliating death, the silence and loss of the tomb, the seeming
emptiness of the day after his burial. And … now what? Can there be anything good about this? The three women creep to the tomb through early morning light, carrying precious oils to anoint Jesus’ body, as was their duty. Anticipated: a huge round slab of stone, fitted into a groove, fiercely blocking the entrance to the tomb. But wait … no stone. How could the tomb entrance be wide open, inviting … even daring them to come in? Frightened as they and we are, we venture into the cold, dark tomb and find the unexpected: it is filled with light. We too are looking for Jesus. He’s been RAISED UP. We have no idea what that really means, but we can choose to follow him, believing his promise that we will see him… we will be raised up… and that will change everything. - Maureen McDonnell, O.P., College Minister B.A., Edgewood College, 1967 |