Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord (April 20, 2025)

A joyful and Happy Easter to you and those dear to you! In the resurrection of Jesus Christ, death has been conquered. Jesus is truly risen, and we shall one day join him in risen glory! During Lent, we learned to unite ourselves with the suffering of Jesus. If we were one with him in his suffering, so are we now one with him in his resurrection joy. Alleluia!

Easter is certainly a time of joy, but one thing we learn from today’s Gospel is puzzling: the first reaction of Mary Magdalene and Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved is not joy but fear! Bewilderment and fear. They went from that Empty Tomb and locked themselves in a room! “For they did not yet understand the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.”

It came down to this: Whatever else the followers of Jesus might have foreseen following the horrible crucifixion of their Lord, whatever they dreamed of, they did not anticipate a resurrection – despite his teaching that he would rise after the third day! Resurrection was apparently the last thing they expected. The discovery of an Empty Tomb left them disconcerted, hesitant and scared. We have heard Jesus’ teaching of the resurrection all our lives. How does that impact our expectations of life after death?

The other readings today also shed Easter light. The First Reading begins a season-long focus on the Acts of the Apostles, the sequel to Luke’s Gospel that tells the story of the early Church. The Book of Acts is basically a continuous Alleluia, as the apostles go out and witness to their Risen Lord. Their message is met with varying degrees of acceptance. The apostles are sometimes harshly treated, persecuted and even imprisoned for their unwavering faith. For the people who resisted their message “did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.”

In the First Letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul is dealing with a community that is beset by quarreling and discontent. “For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.” And Saint Paul offers them this gem of encouragement: “Let us celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”

We all benefit from reflecting on the mystery of the Empty Tomb. No matter what our situation, no matter our opinions or differences, the one thing we all share in common is the uncertainty of our future demise. If death is the common door through which we all must enter, then the Empty Tomb gives us a hopeful glimpse of what lies on the other side. Do WE understand the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead?

We have no hard evidence that Jesus Christ rose from the dead except from the witness of the apostles who first experienced that Empty Tomb. Is that enough? The skeptic in our modern day says No. But if we open our hearts to this testimony, the gate of eternal life opens to us and, through that blessing of faith, the hope that we need in the world today. Out of the grave of death comes new life.