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Happy Easter!
Many images and scriptural vignettes come to mind when we think about this greatest of feasts. Interestingly enough, there is no "official" Gospel account of the Resurrection. While the four evangelists all agree that Jesus is risen, their narratives are as varied as witnesses' contradictory testimonies in a court of law. Their accounts differ in terms of such details as when Jesus' body was prepared for burial, how many women accompanied Mary Magdalene to the tomb, the number of angels that appeared to the women, the time and location of Jesus' appearances to his disciples and even the manner in which the women's accounts were received-- or not received-- by the apostles. In Luke's Gospel, for example, the women's story "seemed like nonsense and they did not believe them" (Lk 24:11); in Mt 28:8-10, the apostles headed to Galilee to await the risen Lord, as the women directed; in Mk 16:8, upon beholding an angel, the women fled from the tomb and said nothing to anyone, "for they were afraid."
Consistency is not the goal in these post-Resurrection narratives; rather, each narrative provides a different perspective, rather like the brilliant shifting mandalas we see through a kaleidoscope. Taken collectively, they allow us to experience the disciples' overwhelming amazement and joy as darkness gives way to Light, and despair is conquered by Hope. To appreciate these stories fully, we must see them as statements of faith rather than as historical accounts-- statements that invite us, two thousand years later, to believe, rejoice and celebrate. Even if we journey into the heart of darkness, incapable of uttering anything more than "the horror, the horror," still, through God's grace, all will be well, not neccessarily in the here and now, but in some future time: "The final word, we assure ourselves, is not suffering but a deep-bellied cosmic laugh which will resound through the depths of creation" (EAS, Jesus the Holy Fool, 1999).
Easter Blessings,
Elizabeth
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
On the first day of the week,
early in the morning, while it was still dark,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb
and saw the stone had been removed.
So she ran 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 started out for the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and, arriving at the tomb first, he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived, he went into the tomb and
saw the burial cloths, along with the cloth that had covered Jesus' head; it was not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, also went in and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture
that he had to rise from the dead.
John 20:1-9
In John's gospel, the darkness of night had yet to give way to the light of day when Mary Magdalene first approached the tomb. She went alone, by way of the dark, perhaps to hide in the shadows from the watchful eyes of the guards. The outer darkness mirrored her inner darkness, that utter grief and despair that gripped her and all Jesus' followers after the Crucifixion. The worst had happened, for she had witnessed, up close, the excruciating agony and death of her Beloved. In the darkness of unknowing, there were no words of hope to which she could cling. All was dark and the darkness was all encompassing.
Then, upon seeing that the stone had been rolled away, Mary Magdalene ran to Simon Peter to let him know that the tomb was empty. Her immediate assumption was that "they" -- some unknown hostile agents-- had moved Jesus body. Though John does not tell us that Mary actually peered into the tomb, the fact she knew it was empty implies she must have done so. However, whatever she saw -- or did not see-- failed to convince her that there might be an alternative way of interpreting events. For her, the stone sealing the entrance to the tomb had safeguarded the body of her Lord; she never imagined that the absence of the stone signified that Jesus had transcended entombment. She saw without comprehending and all she could perceive was emptiness-- the same emptiness she proclaimed to Simon Peter and his companion.
Oh, the laughter of the empty tomb! The laughter of seeming absence! The fullness of emptiness! It was the linen bindings that shifted Simon Peter's mindset, moving him from disbelief to unrestrained joy. After all, what evildoers would strip and kidnap a corpse and then take the time to roll the head cloth into a ball-- a spherical joke-- separate from the discarded linen bindings? What so terrified the guards that they fled into the darkness of night, leaving the tomb gaping wide? What cosmic explosion blasted open the tomb, releasing Love itself, the power that cannot be restrained?
The only answer defied words and every rational explanation. Entering the tomb, Simon Peter and the other disciple, "saw and believed"...
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QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
- How do your personal circumstances and those of your loved ones align with Easter joy this year?
- How do your concerns for the state of the world align with Easter joy this year?
- How might you cultivate hope and joy in your life?
- How can you illumine the darkness by letting your light shine more brightly?
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EASTER PRAYER
Lord, in the glory of your rising, you bring all things to newness. In this season of great joy, wash away all suffering, all cruelty, all sadness. Roll away the stones and boulders that block our paths, trapping us with their weight. Untie all the shrouds and winding cloths that limit, bind, and strangle hope. Call us from our tombs that we may find the music of possibility, the dance of grace, and the rich, rich wine of your Presence.
Amen.
Pilgrims at Heart, EAS 1993
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