The Empty Tomb Anyone who has ever been to a burial service in a cemetery knows how gaping the six-foot hollow in the earth is. If we peer into the empty space, it seems to go down forever. It is deep, foreboding, not just a little bit frightening. We are much more comfortable when the casket is lowered, the earth has been replaced and cultivated and planted, and living green grassreplaces the gaping hollow. Death and tombs have a finality about them. No doubt so Mary, Peter and John believed as they raced to the place where the lifeless Jesus had been laid. They simply did not yet understand. They sought a lifeless body and found an empty tomb. They queried about “where” and discovered “what”. They simply did not yet understand. They simply did not understand that he had to rise from the dead. Our belief in the Resurrection must begin with the empty tomb. It is the empty tomb that brings us to raise the question about where they put Jesus’ lifeless body. It is the empty tomb that sends us searching for what we thought was lifeless. It is the empty tomb that brings us to belief: Jesus is alive, he is risen. Only as the risen Lord comes to us does our own belief in the meaning of the empty tomb continually grow. Easter faith is never still. Jesus’ risen presence can be found where we least expect it – in the gentle smile, in the unexpected extension of a helping hand, in the goodness and generosity of oyr family and neighbors and friends. And even perfect strangers. Easter teaches us that we must give ourselves over for others in total love. This is the paschal mystery. Easter faith is never still. The risen Lord is always active. In our Easter faith. In our acts of love.
Touch Me and See In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus assures the disciples that he is not a ghost: “Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” This risen Jesus is not a ghost. He is alive! This last statement, however, is much easier said than grasped. Resurrection is outside our human experience, so we have a hard time making it concrete. This gospel challenges us to move resurrection beyond a theological concept to a life to be experienced by us, here and now. How concrete Jesus is in leading the disciples to experience and believe in his resurrection. In this gospel, Jesus comes to them, where they are, he invites them to touch his risen body and he eats baked fish! Like long ago, Jesus comes to us where we are. No matter whether we are faltering in our ability to be faithful, or are terrified at the demands living the Gospel entails, or are struggling with doubt, Jesus still comes to us. When we stray, Jesus touches us with his forgiveness and invites us to forgive others. Jesus invites us to come to his table, feeding us with his risen Body. Jesus is alive! The risen Jesus is known today in the goodness that surrounds us, the hope that encourages us and the love that strengthens us. The reality of the resurrection is known when we are forgiving people, when we are repenting people. The resurrection, then, makes a difference in our lives. It challenges us to do what is utterly basic to the gospels: repent and forgive. This Jesus is alive. This is no ghost.
He Is Risen Anyone who has ever been to a burial service in a cemetery knows how gaping the six-foot hollow in the earth is. If we peer into the empty space, it seems to go down forever. It is deep, foreboding, not just a little bit frightening. We are much more comfortable when the casket is lowered, the earth has been replaced and cultivated and planted, and living green grass replaces the gaping hollow. Death and tombs have a finality about them. No doubt so Mary, Peter and John believed as they raced to the place where the lifeless Jesus had been laid. They simply did not yet understand. They sought a lifeless body and found an empty tomb. They queried about “where” and discovered “what”. They simply did not yet understand. They simply did not understand that he had to rise from the dead. Our belief in the Resurrection must begin with the empty tomb. It is the empty tomb that brings us to raise the question about where they put Jesus’ lifeless body. It is the empty tomb that sends us searching for what we thought was lifeless. It is the empty tomb that brings us to belief: Jesus is alive, he is risen. Only as the risen Lord comes to us does our own belief in the meaning of the empty tomb continually grow. Easter faith is never still. Jesus’ risen presence can be found where we least expect it – in the gentle smile, in the unexpected extension of a helping hand, in the goodness and generosity of oyr family and neighbors and friends. And even perfect strangers. Easter teaches us that we must give ourselves over for others in total love. This is the paschal mystery. Easter faith is never still. The risen Lord is always active. In our Easter faith. In our acts of love.