“Simon Peter got up, ran to the tomb bent down and saw the burial cloths alone, then he went away amazed at what had happened.”

It is not hard to imagine that the discovery of the empty tomb was quite startling to Jesus’ followers. We have to remember that, despite all they had been taught, they still did not fully comprehend what Jesus had foretold concerning His resurrection on the third day. They were still, in a very real sense, a “work in progress.” Ultimately, however, their faith and ours is not solely based on the phenomenon of the empty tomb. Instead, our Christian faith is rooted in the numerous post-resurrection appearances of Jesus to His followers. The Risen Lord was actually seen by Mary of Magdala. He was seen by the apostles who were hiding in the locked room. Thomas was invited to actually touch Him. He also appeared to the two men walking along the road to Emmaus, and broke bread with them. Remember, no sane person would have willingly sacrificed all they had, including their very lives, to carry on the cult of a dead man. No normal person would have ever been willing to forego the joy of a family; a personal career; a more comfortable life style and, ultimately, undergo persecution and a martyr’s death for the sake of a dead man they once admired and had followed. In fact it would be quite reasonable to assume that in the face of Jesus’ death, they would have been distraught, beaten down and ready to run off in different directions. They would have gone back to their former ways of life as fishermen or laborers or tax collectors. So we, the believers of today, find our faith strengthened by the eye-witness testimony of the apostles and other followers who experienced not only the empty tomb, but, most importantly, the Risen Christ. Saint Paul made a critical point when he wrote, “If Christ is not risen from the dead, our preaching is empty, your faith is worthless and we are the most wretched of people.”

Having just completed Holy Week, it might surprise some of you to know that the last three days of Holy Week, the Triduum, were considered as one. It might be even more surprising to note that today and the next six weeks are also considered as one, as Easter. Today, in fact every Sunday, our parish family gathers to celebrate the glory of the risen Christ. The cross of unspeakable pain and death has now been transformed into the triumphant cross. It is our constant reminder of Christ’s great love for us and of His total victory over sin and death and His promise to, one day, lift up all of His faithful ones from the darkness of the tomb into His own wonderful light.

In his writings, Saint Paul so eloquently describes to us Jesus’ loving obedience to death on the cross. He hinted at what we celebrate today for “…when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” Because of Jesus perfect obedience to the Father’s will, “God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every other name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father.”

Through our baptism, we have all shared in the suffering and death of Christ and were transformed into sons and daughters of God. As Christians, it is our firm belief that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we who are also sons and daughters of God, will one day be raised from our graves and experience the newness of life promised by Christ to all who believe in him, are obedient to his teaching and faithfully take up the cross and follow in His footsteps.

Today, we gather, as an Easter people, to celebrate our belief not just in an empty tomb, but rather, in a Risen Jesus who is Lord and Savior. Because we have been blessed with the gift of faith, we not only believe but boldly proclaim to our community and to the whole world our Easter proclamation “Jesus Christ is Risen Today, Alleluia!”

“We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection
until you come again.”