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.
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.
Jesus is risen! He is truly risen!
The resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith. It is inseparable with His passion and death. It is part of His redemptive act and is a sign that God's love triumphs over our sinfulness. Jesus tomb has been emptied, a sign that sin and death lost.
In the Gospel, we hear about how Jesus' followers witnessed the empty tomb. Mary of Magdala, Peter and John saw that the body of Jesus was no longer in the tomb. It is but human to resist the idea that Jesus has risen from the dead because resurrection is no ordinary human experience. But they saw the empty tomb. And Jesus spoke to them before about rising from the dead. So they might be asking, "Could it be that He is alive?" And it was John who first believed, even though he too didn't understand everything well.
It was John who first believed. He saw how Jesus was crucified. He saw how Jesus died on the cross and how Jesus was pierced, causing blood and water to flow out from Him. If you saw a person die, you would probably be the last to believe a news about the same person rising from the dead. But that was not the case for John. He was the first to believe! It was probably by the grace of God that he believed even without sufficient understanding.
In our lives, when we face trials and all kinds of problems, we lose hope and we fail to believe in God's goodness and to trust in His wisdom. Like John, we witness and even experience suffering. But unlike him, we easily lose hope most of the time and we fail to believe.
The fact that Jesus is alive should bring us hope! He is alive because evil is never stronger than good and because God's love is forever mightier than sin. Everything evil or bad will fade away eventually, and joy will soon come.
But John showed us a very important attitude - we must experience suffering with and in Christ in order to fully experience Easter joy. We must carry our crosses as Jesus asked us to do. We must never view our suffering as merely something we have to get over with as soon as we can. Suffering and sacrifice must always be united with Christ's suffering. We must offer our suffering for God, for His greater glory and for help to those who always suffer. This is what we learned during Lent. We cannot just face Easter immediately. We must experience sacrificing during Lent to prepare ourselves . We must experience Good Friday with Jesus before we can celebrate Easter Sunday!
As we celebrate Easter, may our lives be filled with the hope that as long as we remain faithful to God, He will never abandon us and He will raise us up again each time we fall. May we experience Christ's new life - a life free from sin and a life of confidence in Him. May we always be children of Easter, dead in sinfulness but alive in Christ!
The resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith. It is inseparable with His passion and death. It is part of His redemptive act and is a sign that God's love triumphs over our sinfulness. Jesus tomb has been emptied, a sign that sin and death lost.
In the Gospel, we hear about how Jesus' followers witnessed the empty tomb. Mary of Magdala, Peter and John saw that the body of Jesus was no longer in the tomb. It is but human to resist the idea that Jesus has risen from the dead because resurrection is no ordinary human experience. But they saw the empty tomb. And Jesus spoke to them before about rising from the dead. So they might be asking, "Could it be that He is alive?" And it was John who first believed, even though he too didn't understand everything well.
It was John who first believed. He saw how Jesus was crucified. He saw how Jesus died on the cross and how Jesus was pierced, causing blood and water to flow out from Him. If you saw a person die, you would probably be the last to believe a news about the same person rising from the dead. But that was not the case for John. He was the first to believe! It was probably by the grace of God that he believed even without sufficient understanding.
In our lives, when we face trials and all kinds of problems, we lose hope and we fail to believe in God's goodness and to trust in His wisdom. Like John, we witness and even experience suffering. But unlike him, we easily lose hope most of the time and we fail to believe.
The fact that Jesus is alive should bring us hope! He is alive because evil is never stronger than good and because God's love is forever mightier than sin. Everything evil or bad will fade away eventually, and joy will soon come.
But John showed us a very important attitude - we must experience suffering with and in Christ in order to fully experience Easter joy. We must carry our crosses as Jesus asked us to do. We must never view our suffering as merely something we have to get over with as soon as we can. Suffering and sacrifice must always be united with Christ's suffering. We must offer our suffering for God, for His greater glory and for help to those who always suffer. This is what we learned during Lent. We cannot just face Easter immediately. We must experience sacrificing during Lent to prepare ourselves . We must experience Good Friday with Jesus before we can celebrate Easter Sunday!
As we celebrate Easter, may our lives be filled with the hope that as long as we remain faithful to God, He will never abandon us and He will raise us up again each time we fall. May we experience Christ's new life - a life free from sin and a life of confidence in Him. May we always be children of Easter, dead in sinfulness but alive in Christ!
