He Has Risen!

He Has Risen!

Jn 20: 1 – 9

Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord

Introduction

The Lord has risen! Halleluiah! Today’s reading recounts to us that early Sunday morning when Mary Magdalene and two of Jesus’ disciples discover the empty tomb. One of them believed in his heart that indeed the Lord has risen even without seeing the risen Lord.

The Gospel

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. ² So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” ³ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. ⁴ The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, ⁷ and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. ⁸ Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; ⁹ for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.

Reflection

Our reading talks about three people, who ran to the tomb where Jesus was buried.  The first of these three to have gone there before anyone else was Mary Magdalene. After seeing the stone rolled away from the entrance of the tomb, Mary Magdalene ran hastily to the two disciples, Peter and John and reported what she thought had just happened, saying: “ They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.”

When Simon Peter, however, arrived at the tomb, Jesus’ body was no longer there just as Mary had reported. There inside the empty tomb, he saw some of Jesus’ burial clothes carefully rolled up and placed on the side. Despite seeing these, Simon Peter could still not figure out what really happened. With the burial clothes rolled neatly inside the tomb, he must have been puzzled at the care with which these burial clothes were laid down. If indeed some people have taken the body of Jesus, there was apparently no sign that they were in a hurry taking the body away.  

As we can tell from the narrative, Mary Magdalene and Simon Peter didn’t have a clue at what happened. Never did it occur to them that Jesus has risen from the dead. It would have been a lot easier for them to conclude that Jesus had risen from the dead had Jesus appeared to them right there on the spot. Apparently, just like us, they needed concrete proof of the risen body to convince themselves that Jesus indeed has risen from the dead.  

However, there was one person who saw what the other two have seen and yet believed. This was the beloved disciple John whom the gospel describes as the disciple whom Jesus loved. It is interesting to see how this beloved disciple, at seeing the burial cloths and the head cloth rolled separately, believed immediately and understood what this meant.

The Gospel of John, among all the other Gospels makes particular mention of the burial clothes. But even more particular was the Gospel’s mention of a cloth that covered Jesus’ head which was found not with the burial clothes but was instead rolled up in a separate place. Why was this Gospel so particular about these burial clothing and head cloth? What made the apostle John believe when he saw these clothes? The answer lies within the same gospel. One must recall that before Jesus died, there was another resurrection story, the resurrection of Lazarus.

When Jesus called out Lazarus from the tomb, Lazarus came out of the tomb with his hands and feet still wrapped with his burial bands. Jesus then commanded those who were there to untie Lazarus and let him go. Notice that even if Lazarus has been resurrected from the dead, he did not have the strength and the power to remove his own burial bands. People had to do that for him. Now in the resurrection of Jesus, Jesus himself removed his burial bandages and rolled his face clothe separately from his burial clothes. Unlike Lazarus, Jesus had the power to raise himself up and even take away his bandages and facial cloth unaided by anyone. The resurrection of Jesus then becomes different and distinct from the resurrection of Lazarus. Jesus raised himself up and freed himself from whatever symbols of death there was from his body. These burial clothes rolled neatly on the side convinced the disciple whom Jesus loved, that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead. His burial clothes and bands  spoke eloquently of the power of his resurrection.

Only a beloved disciple like John was able to conclude with certainty that the Lord has truly risen without even seeing the body of the risen Lord. This tells us a lot about the beloved disciple John. His ability to sense and recognize Jesus even without seeing him was extraordinary. It was this same disciple who also recognized the risen Jesus from afar  along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, as he and his fellow disciples were fishing. When he recognized the Lord, he told his companions:  “ It is the Lord. (Jn 21:7).”

When there is a strong bond between two people, the heart is all that’s needed to sense the presence of the other. This deep connection and affinity springs from a heart that knows and feels. For the apostle John to call himself the beloved disciple reveals how close he was to Jesus. This bond, this connection, was certainly deep, as it allowed the beloved the disciple to recognize Jesus even when Jesus was not physically visible. Deep inside his heart, the beloved disciple knew that his Lord and Master has indeed risen just as he had promised.

The proof of the resurrection does not lie in the evidences that will prove that Jesus has risen from the dead. The proof lies simply deep inside our hearts. Just like the beloved disciple, we too know and believe that the Lord is alive because we too have been loved by the Lord. For those of us who to this day have never felt and experienced the love of the Lord who died for us on the cross, we will continue to search for proofs of his resurrection. Just like Mary Magdalene, we might end up searching and looking for a dead Lord and will continue to fill our lives with the gloom of good Friday.

The Lord has risen! Believe.

Prayer

Lord, you are alive! Halleluiah! Live Jesus in our hearts! In rising to life, you have given us hope that one day, we too will rise and live with you forever! Amen.

^25” I know that my Savior lives,
and at the end
    he will stand on this earth.
²⁶ My flesh may be destroyed,
yet from this body
    I will see God.^{” – Job 19: 25 - 26}