Rev. Fr. (Dr.) Osmond Anike

Readings:

First Reading: Acts 10:34, 37-43 – We have eaten and drunk with him after his resurrection.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 117(118):1-2, 16-17, 22-23 – This day was made by the Lord: we rejoice and are glad.

Second Reading: Colossians 3:1-4 – Look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is.

Gospel: John 20:1-9 – He must rise from the dead.

The way to start this reflection is to acknowledge that the resurrection of Jesus is a miracle – the greatest of all miracles. When we think about people who died and were brought back to life in the Bible, we think of the son of the widow of Nain whom Jesus brought back to life when he was being carried away for burial. Recently also we read about the story of how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, who was already buried for four days. However, these miracles are not described as resurrection. These people were brought back to life only to die again at a later date. When we talk of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, or of the resurrection of the dead in general, this is not what we mean. Jürgen Moltmann insists in his book “The Crucified God” that, “Easter faith can never mean that the dead Jesus returned to this life, which leads to death”. For him, and for us Christians, “the symbol of resurrection from the dead means a qualitatively new life which no longer knows death and therefore cannot be a continuation of this mortal life”. In this sense therefore, when we talk of the resurrection, we are not talking of “life after death”, but rather “life from the dead”; it means the annihilation of the power of death. Consequently, the resurrection of Jesus is the basis of our faith as Christians. Without the resurrection, all our hope and belief would have been in vain. Thanks to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we can now believe in “the resurrection of the body and life everlasting” – not further life after death, but eternal life.

People often look for a simplistic interpretation of the resurrection. Such simplistic interpretations frequently lead to theologically problematic conclusions. Conscious of the fact that my immediate audience in this homily is not sufficiently theologically informed (moreover, this is a homily and not an academic paper), I have decided not to go into the rigors of the historical-critical exegesis of the resurrection narratives, but rather to dwell more on how the story surrounding the resurrection account can positively impact on us in our practice of faith. The great claim of the resurrection narrative is that Jesus Christ lives. And because he lives, we are as a people. In his contribution on the book, Christology and Scripture: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, John Webster, in an article titled, Resurrection and Scripture, wrote that, “His resurrection is … not simply the prolongation of creaturely existence, but the demonstration of the fact that in him, there is life, that he has life in and from himself…. His life… is not simply created life given infinite duration but eschatological or original life, life derived from nothing other than his participation in the infinite being of God without cause”. I think that the fact that Jesus lives; the fact that death did not conquer him, was the only interest of the disciples and the early Christians.

The “description” of Jesus’ resurrection or its “how” and its “sequence” were never the interests of the biblical writers. Unlike his sufferings and death – events that were publicly witnessed to – nobody witnessed the resurrection. The disciples learned about the resurrection through the “appearances of Jesus”. After his death, his disciples went into hiding out of fear. Having silenced their leader, Jesus of Nazareth, they rightly feared that they would be the next target. It was a confusing and an unsettling period for them. It was every man to his fate; they scattered as a group because the center apparently could no longer hold. Many of them fled to Galilee, their home town (although it is believed that some of them, like Peter and John, remained in Jerusalem). Then, suddenly came the unsettling news, from some women in their group, of an “empty tomb”. The tomb in which Jesus was buried was discovered to be empty. And this was in spite of the huge stone used to cover it and the security personnel placed to watch over it. The rush of the apostles to the tomb to verify the accounts of the women, and the subsequent appearances of Jesus to some of them, changed everything. There was a renewed vigor among them, not only on the account of the women’s testimony, but also because Jesus appeared to some of them too. The “appearance” of Jesus and his being “seen” by those to whom he appeared became a very strong and compelling Easter narrative. Peter used this narrative in today’s first reading when he was preaching in the house of Cornelius. And Paul justified his claim to the discipleship of Jesus on the basis of this appearance; claiming that just as Jesus appeared to a number of the Apostles, including Cephas (Peter), he also appeared to him (Paul). With his numerous appearances, Jesus is no longer perceived as dead but as alive. The eschatological hope in the resurrection of the dead has been realized in Jesus. We no longer ‘wait’ for the resurrection of the dead as the Jewish apocalyptic says; we now ‘believe’ in the resurrection of dead, thanks to the appearances of the living Jesus.

It is precisely because Jesus lives that we as Christians take comfort in the face of tribulations. The Church has been through different tribulations in history. But our belief in the resurrection has always seen us navigate such difficulties. This year’s Holy Week celebration has been like no other before; at least not in the living memory. As the holiest week in the Christian calendar, it was supposed to be a week full of activities with different symbolic connotations. Instead, the coronavirus quarantine has forced virtually the entire world to keep a distance from each other. The consequence is that Churches are completely empty due to some force majeure when it should have been bustling with beehive of activities. Many understand the reason why this is so. But some (especially those with fundamentalist mentality) are questioning why the Church should obey the government order regarding quarantine, arguing that people should not fear because the blood of Jesus has already washed away the coronavirus. Well, this is not a place to reply to such outlandish disinformation. It suffices to state that, except somebody is living in another planet with no contact at all with the planet earth, nobody who is witnessing the number of death and sickness due to this virus should be able to dismiss its danger with a wave of hand. But perhaps we can use the reactions of three biblical personages to the empty tomb in the gospel of today to analyze the responses of today’s Christians toward the “empty Churches”.

The first personage is Mary Magdalene. The gospel of John says that she went to the tomb when it was still dark, saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb, and concluded without proper investigation that, “the Lord had been taken away”. She represents the group in the Church that I can describe as “armchair explorers” – those who make judgements concerning the church from afar. They tell you what is happening inside the grave; how the body has been taken away, etc. for the simple reason that the stone was removed. They never border to cross-check their assumptions. For people belonging to this group, Churches are empty because, inside them are thieves, robbers, heinous criminals and horrible sinners whose only interest is to plunder and squander. They float all sorts of conspiracy theories and constitute themselves into Public Relations Officers of the Church to spread such theories. Meanwhile, they never ventured to enter the Church. Like Mary of Magdala, they base their theories of the “crime” committed solely on the supposition that once the stone had been moved away, therefore somebody must have stolen the body of Jesus.

The second personage is John; and he represents that group of Christians who, at first, are very enthusiastic about Christianity. They are fast runners; active in the church. But there is one thing they lack: they don’t have the courage to enter inside the grave. Although they can reach the “door” of the church relatively faster, they only peep through; they don’t enter inside. This group is a little bit better that the Magdalene group because, at least, they were able to peep in and see something. The Magdalene group saw from afar when “it was still dark”. They didn’t look inside at all. But the Johannine group looked from a closer range. Be that as it may, the courage to enter and verify was completely lacking. Therefore, their testimony wouldn’t be correct and accurate. In my opinion, this group is even more dangerous and destructive of the church. The reason is simple: half information is dangerous, just like half education. They possess some truth, but not the entire truth. When they feed you with their half information, you become more confused.

The third personage is Peter. He represents the slow and steady group. It is said that slow and steady wins the race. This group is fewer in number, and they don’t normally make a fuss. They know where they are going; they know their target; and they quietly reach their goal. They are the people who have the courage to enter into the tomb. When there are tribulations in the church, they are the group that normally remain when the rest desert. Because they are typically not in the forefront, they are easily ignored and go unnoticed. But eventually, they are the only group who are ready to suffer and take risks for the church. It is their perseverance that eventually draws others back who are already on their way fleeing. Had Peter not taken the risk to enter the tomb, John wouldn’t have entered as well. He would have ended up coming right at the entrance without ever venturing inside.

Brethren, to be Christian means to have the courage to enter the grave. Jesus’ grave was empty, not because “they have taken him away” but because “he is alive” in a different form. If you don’t have the courage to enter the grave, you might go home with a wrong conclusion regarding the empty grave. In the same way, churches might be empty, not because the church is dead, but because the living Lord is calling her to be alive in a different form.

May the resurrected and living Lord grant us all the eternal life promised to those who believe in him. Happy Easter to you all!