First Reading: Acts 10:34, 37-43
Second Reading: Col 3:1-4
Gospel: Jn 20:1-9
Alleluia! The Lord is risen.
For us Christians, Easter is a great event. Without Easter, our whole Christian
faith becomes meaningless. The celebration of Easter is not some ideal status
of God who cannot be put to death or for whom there is no annihilation. No,
what we are celebrating today is a man
who is raised from death. We are not celebrating God who died and rose
again. It is not necessary for God to die and rise again. What God is gaining
with this useless drama? If God were to show His nature as eternal, He wouldn’t
have died on the cross, He could have either come down from the cross immediately
– just as His executioners were mocking Him to do so – or continued to live on without
giving Himself to the crucifixion. But He did neither of it. He waited for a third
day. Why? In resurrection of Jesus, God is not fighting with humans that He is
greater than them, rather He is making humans to realize that their status is
something beyond and high. In the first reading, St. Peter tells that the risen
Jesus appeared not to all, but to a few who are chosen (Acts 10:41). If God is
interested in proving to His executioners that they have not succeeded in killing
Him, then Jesus should have appeared to them first and to them the most. But what
we see in the whole resurrection event is entirely different. At first, the
risen Jesus is not seen by anyone. Later, He appears to a few, then news about His
resurrection spreads far and wide. Resurrection is a breaking event in the
history. Yet, it breaks out gradually. Through the resurrection of Jesus, the
rulers of this world who project themselves as God – just as Caesar was doing then
– are humbled. The ordinary humans are given a hope that they need not fear
their human masters who have power only to kill their body not take away their
eternal life in a glorified body.
In the resurrection, Jesus has
not gone back to His original state of being without flesh that is to His pre
incarnation form of existence. Rather, in the resurrection, Jesus is raised to
an eternal nature of a human form. In the risen state Jesus is still holding a
human form. He is raised with the body. In resurrection His corruptible human
body is being transformed into an incorruptible one. This gives us a hope that
our human existence is not ending with our bodily death. Today’s celebration
proclaims that our death is a passage from this corruptible body in a destructive
world to an incorruptible body in an eternal world. And so, the news about
resurrection of Jesus captivates everyone in the first century. Can we imagine
what could have possible moved Peter the fisherman from Galilee to go all the
way to Rome to proclaim the good news of Jesus if not the resurrection? Do anyone
give a life to spread a rumour? Would anyone dare to embrace cruel death such
as first Christians just to keep the cooked up story alive? No, it is at the defence
of truth that one would dare to give life. The invention of rumours and stories
are to escape possible sufferings. Lies are told to protect oneself from
defeat. That’s why the Jewish leaders pump money to spread the rumour that
Jesus’ body is stolen by His disciples. On Good Friday we witnessed how lies
are utilized to kill the truth. On this resurrection day we see that those same
liars are terrified with the news that Jesus is risen. Yes, truth prevails, Lies
survive. Truth moves from place to place and form to form. Jesus’ movement from
corruptible body to glorified body is an instance that truth can be suppressed
but never be annihilated. Lies survive but never lost long and see a progress. Those
who stand for truth move from this world to eternal bliss. On the contrary, those
who stand for lie survive this earthly life but lose the eternal bliss forever.
In the tomb the disciples
see linen clothes which were used to wrap the dead body of Jesus. This is a symbol
that a resurrected body is no more like a corruptible human body that needs
covering. In the risen state Jesus has embraced a glorified body that has no
shame and in need of any covering. At this juncture, we recall Adam and Eve who
were originally naked in the Garden of Eden. In their nakedness there was no
lust and shame. It was only after they had sinned that they felt shame and hid
themselves from each other. The glorified body in risen state is bringing back
our originality, is restoring our original nature which was lost by Adam and Eve
in the garden. In the second reading, St. Paul tells Colossians that if they
have been raised with Christ, then they have to seek things that are in line
with resurrection (Col 3:1-2). In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught that lust
lies not in body but in the heart (Mt 5:28). Those who have this high moral
attitude are partakers in the life of risen Jesus. Thus, St. Paul repeatedly
tells in most of his epistles that one should not limit his/her body to sexuality
but take care of it as temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19). The leaving of
cloths in the tomb also signifies that there is no need to cover one’s sins
when s/he is the risen family. St. Paul tells in Galatians 6:1-2 that as people
of the spirit they have to correct each other and carry each other’s burden. This
is why first Christians never hesitated to confess one’ sins in the public. In confessing
one’s sins with the each other they are helped to overcome those sins. In confessing
sins, one is becoming naked in front of the other but that doesn’t humiliate sinner
as the listeners are people who live by the standards that are of above. In
rising from the tomb Jesus left the cloth and became transparent to all. As people
of resurrection let us leave our lies that hide our true self from God and
others and become transparent in living our lives. In becoming transparent we will
be glorified by God and other as well as one day embrace a glorified body for
eternity. Wish you all a happy Easter!
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