Holy Land Parish Pilgrimage, Day 7: Mass @ the Empty Tomb, Jerusalem

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Gospel: John 20: 1-9

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. 

So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.”

So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.

When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.

Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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What a remarkable opportunity on the heels of Easter, to be standing in the very place where our Lord rose from the dead!

Don’t we all desperately need to be here? To see the empty tomb; to touch it; to adore it; to pray for our loved ones who’ve gone before us.

When we consider what’s happening around the world, certainly in Ukraine, it can feel like we’re stuck on Good Friday. Even here in Jerusalem there have been deadly clashes in the name of religion.

Our world’s known Good Friday. We’ve known Good Friday.

But the Holy Spirit is urging us to make that miraculous leap of faith from Good Friday to Easter Sunday – to hope and believe in the resurrection. It’s the very heart of our faith, and there’s no better place to profess our faith than right here.

In honor of the Lord’s victory over death, let’s profess the Apostles Creed, calling to mind our loved ones and all whom we’ve promised to pray for:

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I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. (HERE).
He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; (HERE).
He ascended into Heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.

Amen.

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Image credits: (1) Learn Religions, Holy Sepulcher (2) Architectural Digest, The Empty Tomb, Holy Sepulcher (3) The Irish Times, The Empty Tomb