Reflection for Sunday – April 20, 2035

Irene GoodwinSunday Readings Homilies

Readings: Acts 10: 34a, 37-43; Colossians 3: 1-4; John 20: 1-9 
Preacher: Irene Goodwin

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.                          

Yes, Easter has arrived.  Do we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus with hope and joy?

The Gospel we hear this Easter morning is a curious choice. There is no mention of resurrection or an appearance of Jesus. This morning, we are left with the empty tomb. Our Gospel is from John and it gives only half the story. Mary Magdeline alone goes to the tomb to see the stone moved away.  She rushes to the other disciples to tell them that Jesus’ body has been stolen.  They run to the tomb.

Peter goes in and then the “other disciple” follows. What do they do? They go home while Mary stays.  End of story.  We are told the other disciple believed. It feels like something is missing.  We are left with questions. What is it actually that the other disciple believed? Why did they go home?  Of course, the big question is who is this other disciple?   Many call him/her the beloved disciple.  Some commentators would say Peter represented the disciples.

 We know Peter is a man of great faith; we also know of his misunderstandings and misplaced enthusiasm. We know little about this beloved disciple and who he or she may be.

The evangelist John writes of one who believed because of his/her relationship with Jesus. Scholars would say that this is not denigration of Peter’s faith. Peter had many roles in the Fourth Gospel.  The beloved disciple had one role; that is to embody the love that he or she had for Jesus. For John this is the goal of discipleship.  While some needed help understanding the Scriptures that Jesus had to rise from the dead, the beloved disciple just knew.  For the Evangelist John the bottom line is love.

You and I do know the rest of the story. Jesus did rise from the dead and appear first to Mary Magdeline with the command to spread the news to the others. Then Jesus appeared several times and places to the disciples. 

John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg, in their book The Last Week, tell us that the Easter stories are parables.  They say that does not mean that Jesus did not rise from the dead but rather they remind us that there may be several meanings to a story. When we know we are looking at a parable, we know we are meant to dig deeper into its meaning. The resurrection happened over 2,000 years ago; however, does it have meaning for each of us today?  Of course, on the one level we understand Jesus died and rose again and that is a promise for us.  What else should the story be telling us?  Does anything else really matter?  Today my question is why on Easter are we left at the empty tomb.  Perhaps it reminds us that in difficult times it may be easier to stay at the tomb; however, we are called to leave the tomb and go forth to love.

 This year we read how people across the world will go hungry because of decisions made in Washington.  People will lose medical care. People will lose well-earned jobs. People are deported with no due process. Every day we hear more news that angers us and we believe in the need for change.  Where do we find resurrection? More importantly, where do we enable resurrection?

 I suppose that is the importance of our liturgical cycle. Every year we have go through Lent to work on what needs to be transformed in our lives. Today we know that Lent is much more than giving up sweets.  It is more about looking deep within and trying to let go of our ego and transform self, to die to old ways of being and be born again.  Again, John might ask us how well we loved.

Lent is a time for individuals and communities to ask: Where do I fit into what is happening in the world? Where do we need to change? In difficult times we must ask ourselves, how must I love more?

  Several weeks ago, President Obama spoke at a community college.  He said that everything will be okay. It will be okay especially if we go out and do something. I am not able to go to Gaza or Ukraine. Alone I cannot stop the government from taking away important laws that protect people.  I can do small acts of love. These acts of love can be life changing for those we love and for ourselves.  Every time someone does a small act of love, that is where we find resurrection. When we do Lent and Good Friday well, we arrive on Easter Sunday as new creations.  We celebrate the Resurrection with great joy. We celebrate dying with Christ as we may also rise with him to new life.  If we have loved well, we will feel the resurrection in every bone of our body.

This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Irene Goodwin
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