WITNESSES OF THE RESURRECTION: THE EMPTY TOMB.

April 17, 2022
Easter Sunday The Resurrection of the Lord.

Readings: Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23; Col3:1-4; Jn 20:1-9.

“This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance…” (Acts 10:41)

A Sicilian proverb says: “The testimony of one eyewitness is worth more than the hearsay of a hundred.” And an Ivorian proverb adds: “There are no witnesses to a dream.”

The greatest witness of the Resurrection of the Lord is not the Apostles Peter and John, nor Mary Magdalene. It is the empty tomb. The first that saw the Lord out from death and back to life, and which speaks more loudly of his triumph is the tomb. It could not hold him for longer than announced by the Prophets. The tomb has seen life triumphs from it. It has witnessed the greatest battle, the battle against the forces of evil. And from this battle, only one was victorious, Jesus Christ our Lord. Victory! Victory! Victory! Jesus came out alive from the tomb. The tomb is empty, life is restored and the glory and the Alleluias can again be sung and more loudly.

“The Paschal mystery has two aspects: by his death, Christ liberates us from sin; by his Resurrection, he opens for us the way to a new life. This new life is above all justification that reinstates us in God's grace, "so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." Justification consists of both, victory over the death caused by sin and a new participation in grace.526 It brings about filial adoption so that men become Christ's brethren, as Jesus himself called his disciples after his Resurrection: "Go and tell my brethren." We are brethren not by nature, but by the gift of grace, because that adoptive filiation gains us a real share in the life of the only Son, which was fully revealed in his Resurrection.” CCC 654.

With great solemnity, we celebrate this day. We revive the mystery above all other mysteries. The mystery of life triumphing death and sin. The mystery of the new creation. The mystery of the new covenant. We are renewed by the blood Jesus poured on the Cross and given a new opportunity to live. God, through his Only Begotten Son, has conquered death and unlocked for us the path to eternity.

While reviving and rejoicing at this mystery of life, the readings give us to meditate on the singular experiences of the ocular witnesses, the Apostles and Mary Magdalene, made the first eyewitness of the Resurrection and an apostle towards the Apostles.

In the first reading, Peter, the leader of the congregation of the Twelve gives evidence of the Resurrection. He tells his audience that he and his companions are witnesses of all that refer to the life, death, and Resurrection of Christ. And as proof that he is truly risen, and that the Resurrection is not a myth, Peter adds: "This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead."

What Peter emphasizes here while insisting on the fact that they ate and drank with the Risen Lord is that the Resurrection is not a myth. It is a reality. Something more important in the apostle's narrative is the mission the Risen entrusted them: "He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify..."

The Gospel gives us another experience of the Resurrection once again with a mission. It is that of Mary Magdalene. The encounter of Mary of Magdala with the Risen Lord is the encounter of love. Love is what gave her to be among the few who stood by the Lord's side while he was dying on the Cross. Love is what kept her running to the tomb while all hope seems to have vanished for others. And love is what brought her again to the tomb this early morning of the third day. And her love will be rewarded. She is made a witness of the mystery above all mysteries. Her first experience of the Resurrection was the empty tomb, the stone that has been removed from the entrance. Fear that the body had been stolen brought her to run to inform Peter and the others. Upon arriving at the tomb, that will also be the experience of the Apostles. The Body is no longer there. The tomb is empty. And surprisingly, the burial clothes are silent, saying nothing but that their owner is no longer there. This calls for only one action, that of John: "He saw and believed."

The Resurrection of the Lord is an act of faith. It is the central element and event of our faith. It is the mystery of faith that we sing at every Eucharistic celebration: "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again."

While professing this mystery, St. Paul, through his address to the Colossians reminds us what we should do, our today's mission: "Seek what is above, where Christ is." The Lord is no longer in the tomb. The realities of below were unable to retain him. Therefore, as his disciples and believers, we should not set our focus on things from below but rather on the realities of above.

The Resurrection even though it does not disconnect us from the earth, reminds us that earth and the tomb are not our final destination. Heaven, that is where we go, that is what we thirst for, that is what should give meaning to our life. We are urged to aim at a holy living. This passes through things regarding our affections: The place of our affection should be heaven. The person of our greatest affection should be Jesus. The materialism of this world, the individualism, consumerism, and attractions of this world could get us lost and away from our main focus. We do not live for material possessions, but for life everlasting, heaven. Therefore, while rejoicing on this day of the newness of life, let us make Jesus Christ our priority.