Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Gospel: John 20: 11-18

Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb weeping.
And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb
and saw two angels in white sitting there,
one at the head and one at the feet
where the Body of Jesus had been.
And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “They have taken my Lord,
and I don’t know where they laid him.”
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there,
but did not know it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?
Whom are you looking for?”
She thought it was the gardener and said to him,
“Sir, if you carried him away,
tell me where you laid him,
and I will take him.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,”
which means Teacher.
Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me,
for I have not yet ascended to the Father.
But go to my brothers and tell them,
‘I am going to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.’”
Mary went and announced to the disciples,
“I have seen the Lord,”
and then reported what he had told her.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Yesterday we read Matthew’s account of the empty tomb. Today we read John’s. Since no one witnessed the resurrection itself, it seemingly happened under the cover of darkness while all of humanity was asleep, the Gospel writers take some liberty in telling their story.

Both Matthew and John describe angels being present at the tomb. Often in scripture, when people encounter angels, they’re filled with fear at their glorious appearance. Some attempt to worship them. 

But Mary Magdalene shows no fear at all. John gives the impression she may not even realize she’s speaking with angels, as her eyes had been flooded with tears. Still, the angels would not have captured her devotion; Mary had fallen in love with a higher Being.

“They have taken my Lord,” she says.

Here Mary expresses her personal faith in Jesus Christ as her Savior. “My Lord.”

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When Jesus, the one who’s stolen her heart appears, Mary still does not recognize him. This same phenomenon happens on the Road to Emmaus. It seems the Risen Jesus can appear to people without being recognized; one must have faith in order to see him.

“Woman, why are you weeping?” Jesus asks her.

This is the fourth time Jesus uses the term “woman” in John’s Gospel, and in each case, he is redefining a relationship. Here, Jesus is pulling Mary out of the past, leading her into the future – into mission where she will be sent to share her faith with the disciples, and the world.

“Go to my brothers and tell them, I am going to my Father and your Father,” he says, “to my God and your God.”

Just as Jesus addresses Mary with a new title, “woman,” so he calls his disciples “brothers” for the very first time. Because of his resurrection, Christ has brought our humanity into the very heart of God, allowing us to share the same Father.

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What a marvelous truth!

We are brothers and sisters, members of the same divine family, children of God.

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Image credits: (1) First Baptist Church Greensboro (2) JW.org (3) Bits of Bread, WordPress

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Gospel: Matthew 28: 8-15

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb,
fearful yet overjoyed,
and ran to announce the news to his disciples.
And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.
They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.
Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid.
Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee,
and there they will see me.”

While they were going, some of the guard went into the city
and told the chief priests all that had happened.
The chief priests assembled with the elders and took counsel;
then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,
telling them, “You are to say,
‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.’
And if this gets to the ears of the governor,
we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”
The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed.
And this story has circulated among the Jews to the present day.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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There are a few interesting details peppered into these verses, leading to the conclusion of Matthew’s Gospel.

In the preceding chapters, Matthew refers to Jesus as the “Son of Man,” “Lord,” and the “Son of God.” Matthew wanted his listeners to be assured that, prior to Jesus’ crucifixion and death, he was divine. 

This would’ve served as a consolation to those who were hearing the Gospel for the very first time. But, after Christ’s resurrection, Matthew simply refers to him as “Jesus.” No other title is necessary. This man, Jesus, was raised from the dead.

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To reinforce Christ’s victory over death, Matthew describes an angel rolling away the stone and sitting on top of it, showing God’s power over death. But Jesus was no longer there.

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary see the empty tomb – fearful yet overjoyed – then Jesus appears to them. But he will not allow them to cling to him; whenever the Risen Christ appears to someone, it is to give them a mission.

“Do not be afraid,” he says. “Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee and there they will see me.” The disciples must perform an act of obedience – even an act of faith – by trusting Mary’s account, heading not to the tomb but to Galilee.

There, they, too, will be sent out on mission.

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And just as King Herod tried stomping out the news of Christ’s birth, so the chief priests try muzzling the story of Christ’s resurrection. Those who do not worship Jesus will do anything to get rid of him.

But they never win. The joy of the resurrection was so profound, so thrilling, so life-changing that nothing – not even death – could stop Christ’s disciples from sharing the Good News.

Death had lost its sting. The early Christians saw the grave as a type of second womb; although it claimed their mortal bodies, new life – eternal life – would inevitably come.

May that same spirit of joy and conviction come alive within us today!

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Image credits: (1) Piero della Francesca, The Resurrection of Jesus Christ (2) Christ’s Appearance to Mary Magdalene After the Resurrection, Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov (3) Southern Run Baptist Church

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Gospel: Matthew 28: 1-10

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
And behold, there was a great earthquake;
for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven,
approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it.
His appearance was like lightning
and his clothing was white as snow.
The guards were shaken with fear of him
and became like dead men.
Then the angel said to the women in reply,
“Do not be afraid!
I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified.
He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.
Come and see the place where he lay.
Then go quickly and tell his disciples,
‘He has been raised from the dead,
and he is going before you to Galilee;
there you will see him.’
Behold, I have told you.”
Then they went away quickly from the tomb,
fearful yet overjoyed,
and ran to announce this to his disciples.
And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.
They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.
Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid.
Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee,
and there they will see me.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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On my desk where I pray each morning is a small prayer card with a picture of the empty tomb on the front. On the back of that card is a Mass intention I wrote in black ink eleven years ago: For the repose of the soul of Vicki Lois Ward, my mother.

Mom died from cancer less than a year before. As an act of faith, and as a way to process my grief, I made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem where Jesus died and rose. There, I had the incredible opportunity of spending the night inside the Holy Sepulcher. 

The Holy Sepulcher is the massive fourth-century church that houses both the site of the crucifixion and the empty tomb. It’s, perhaps, the holiest site in Christianity because that is where Easter began.

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Walking into the church can be dizzying, as it immediately excites your senses. 

The rich, spicy aroma of incense wafts into your nose while the sound of priests chanting loudly in Greek, Armenian, and Latin echoes off of the ancient walls. Flames from beeswax candles flicker and dance, dimly lighting the expansive church.

Pilgrims kneel, pray, and weep in silence when given the chance to touch the rock of Calvary where Jesus died or the marble slab covering the empty tomb where he was raised.

It’s hard to believe this ornately decorated church was once a cemetery, just outside the city walls. This is the place, Saint Matthew tells us, where Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” once crept in the darkness looking for Jesus locked inside his rock-hewn tomb.

This is where the stone was rolled away, where an angel sat enthroned on top. This is where the guards shook in fear. This is where the darkness and grief of Good Friday first turned into Easter joy. This is where I needed to experience the same.

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I find it to be a fascinating truth that the two most important events in our history – the creation of the world in the Book of Genesis and the redemption of the world at Easter – both take place under the cover of darkness, with no eyewitness other than God himself.

What we do have at Easter is the testimony of holy women, one being Mary Magdalene.

She loved Jesus even after his death. She went to the cemetery early that Easter morning to grieve, her heart still clinging to him. She was rewarded unexpectedly with being the first to see the Risen Christ because of her love and fidelity.

Unlike his disciples, who abandoned Jesus, and were hiding somewhere in Jerusalem, Mary went to the tomb. 

There, Jesus appeared to her – not only to console her – but also to send her out on mission. “Do not be afraid,” he said. “Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

Just as some women have the unique honor of bearing life in their womb, so the Lord entrusted the life-giving truth of his resurrection to Mary Magdalene, who carried it joyfully to the disciples, telling them to meet Jesus back in Galilee where it all began.

There they too, would see him. They, too, would be filled with Easter faith.

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Mary’s message was good news for two reasons. Most importantly, the Lord had been raised from the dead! As Saint Paul later writes, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

Secondly, Mary reported to the disciples that Jesus referred to them as his “brothers.” In spite of their denial, their cowardice, their spiritual indifference, their blaming and cursing, they were still his “brothers,” indissoluble members of God’s family.

Jesus assured his disciples before seeing them that there was nothing they could do – nor is there anything we can do – to weaken his love for us, or to break the divine bond given to us in baptism.

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Perhaps this is Christ’s Easter message for us today.

In spite of how successful or unsuccessful our Lenten journey has been; in spite of our doubt, past failures, or missteps in faith, we are still brothers and sisters of the Risen Lord! Nothing can separate us from his love or his promise of eternal life.

Because of Easter, the early Christians came to see the grave as a type of second womb. Although it claims our mortal bodies, it also promises resurrection.

This belief is also what drove me to visit – and to kiss – the empty tomb. The incense, the chant, the candles prayerfully lit all pointed to a mysterious truth – Christ has been raised from the dead!  

And because of him, so shall we be. Alleluia!

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Image credits: (1) The Holy Sepulcher, Danny the Digger (2) The Irish Times (3) Christ Risen from the Tomb, Bergognone