Jn 20:1-9
The disciples are stunned! They must have thought that the burial has put a stop to the series of events that had so quickly gone beyond their control. They were appalled by the betrayal of Jesus, his subsequent arrest, and the mock trial he underwent. Their Teacher and Master was whipped, crowned with thorns, and crucified. He died and was buried. But now, on seeing the empty tomb, they are shaken to the core of their being.
Mary of Magdala sees that the stone that sealed the tomb has been rolled away. She runs to Peter and the beloved disciple who both go running to the tomb. The beloved disciple runs faster than Peter, arrives at the entrance first, and sees the linen cloths. Peter arrives and goes into the tomb and sees the linen cloths and the head cloth in a separate place.
At this point, they take note of what is unfolding before them. As they run, overtake each other, and come into the tomb, they see. The original Greek words used in these instances are in the present tense and express thus: they see things as they are. As the evangelist John writes, till this moment they have failed to understand the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.
John emphasizes a way of seeing that is worth emulating—that of the Beloved Disciple. He sees and believes. It is a way of seeing that is anchored not only in Jesus’ words but in Jesus’ place in one’s life.
We do not have to go in person to Israel and see with our own eyes the empty tomb before we believe in the resurrection. Neither must we be appalled by stories of life after death. Indeed, there are many reports of bodily disappearance of divine heroes. These include Gesar, the savior of Tibet, the guru of Sikhism. We read about the ascension of Muhammad, the vanishing of Elijah and Enoch into the sky, and God’s burial of Moses in secret. Through the gift of faith and the love of God that Jesus has shown us, we believe in what the Church proclaims and what other martyrs and saints witness to: “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, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead” (Acts 10:40-41).
Easter Sunday is our greatest feast. With the Psalmist, we proclaim, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad” (Ps 118:24). But the apostle Paul challenges us to celebrate this feast “not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness” (1 Cor 5:8). Firmly believing that God has raised Jesus from the dead, we must truly be an Easter people. In moments when people are preoccupied, even stunned, by troubles and difficulties, unable to see the promise of life, we share with them the love with which Jesus showers us. He sacrificed for us as a paschal lamb, and God gave him new life! We are the first batch of dough (1 Cor 5:7), and we face the early morning of the first day of the week (Jn 20:1) a hopeful people.