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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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There’s an old saying, “Religion begins in a cemetery.”
Standing at the grave of a loved one, we feel a range of emotions from despair and sadness, to anger and regret, even hope.
Standing at the graveside, Christians hope.
Christ’s victory over death is our promise that we, too, shall overcome the grave. It’s what we celebrate today.
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“Religion begins in a cemetery.”
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If you visit Jerusalem, then you can touch the empty tomb where the body of Jesus once laid. It’s literally a stone’s throw from Calvary, the hill where Jesus was crucified.
But the inner journey from Good Friday to Easter Sunday – from human despair to Christian hope – isn’t that easy; believing in the resurrection takes a giant leap of faith.
Consider the faith journeys of the disciples gathered at the empty tomb that first Easter morning.
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John “saw and believed.” Bingo.
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But Peter was much slower. It seems he remained stuck on Holy Saturday, fluctuating between doubt and faith, despair and hope.
Peter saw the same things John did – the stone rolled away, the burial cloths folded, the tomb emptied of its precious contents.
But he didn’t make the immediate leap from Good Friday to Easter Sunday like John did. Days from now, Peter will say to the others, “I’m going fishing.”
Not, “I’m going to tell the world what God has done for us!” Not, “Jesus has been raised from the dead!”
But, “I’m going fishing.”
Meaning, “I’m returning to my former way of life.” He didn’t want to be Peter the Apostle anymore. Just Peter the fisherman.
How many of us have felt a bit like Saint Peter?
We want to believe. We’ve seen some evidence of the resurrection. Still, we stand somewhere between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
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Then there’s Thomas, often known as “Doubting Thomas.” Unlike Peter and John, Thomas remained stuck on Good Friday.
He wasn’t with the other disciples when the Risen Lord first appeared. Even after the disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
Thomas responded skeptically, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Thomas was stuck in his grief.
Maybe that’s some of us. We lost someone we loved deeply – and, inwardly, we remain stuck on Good Friday.
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Then there’s Mary Magdalene. She was the first to approach the empty tomb and the first to see the Risen Christ.
Consider why she was there.
The Gospels portray her as a “sinner,” a woman who had many demons cast out of her. Some say she was mentally ill, even a prostitute.
But Jesus treated her differently. He loved her. He healed her. He gave her new life.
So, she never left his side, which is why she was there on Easter morning. She had nowhere else to go.
Maybe some of us are like Mary: we came to Christ broken, and he healed us. We’ve loved him ever since.
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That’s the first Easter community.
There’s John the Beloved who “sees and believes.” There’s swaying Simon Peter, Doubting Thomas, and the once tormented Magdala.
All of them made the life-changing leap of faith from Good Friday to Easter Sunday. For John it was instant. For the others, it took time.
For Thomas, a long time. But eventually, his heart was healed.
Maybe that’s where we fit in. We could be any one of them. Which one do I identify with most? Where am I on my Easter journey – Good Friday, Holy Saturday, or Easter Sunday?
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“Religion begins in a cemetery.”
While many of us have known the bitterness of Good Friday, Christians are called to the hope of Easter Sunday.
Because He is Risen, Alleluia!
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Image credits: (1) Catholic Online (2) Peter and John Running to the Tomb, Eugene Bernand (3) JW.org