Easter Sunday
John's gospel represents a bringing together of two distinct traditions about the resurrection: one is that Mary Magdalene visited the grave of Jesus on Easter morning, found it empty, and reported the fact to the disciples. Mary was the first witness to the resurrection. The other tradition is of Peter's visit to the grave (see Luke 24:12). Peter is the 'First Witness'. You could see the attraction of this tradition for those who argued for a Roman primacy. However, the important matter to be noted here is that John married two distinct traditions. One stressed the conviction that the disciples come to faith in the resurrection through seeing the risen Lord. This is the earlier tradition. The later tradition, represented by 'the beloved disciple', stresses that we come to faith in the resurrection through the mere sight of the empty tomb. In other words, we do not have to see the Risen Lord with our own eyes to come to faith. John is writing for a later generation, and for us.
As a student in Rome I recall doing a year long seminar on the resurrection narratives called, 'Who Moved the Stone?' (The title was taken directly form a 1930s book of that name by an English journalist name Frank Morison). The lecturer led us through the various approaches to the resurrection that had been proposed down through history. At the final seminar he stated: 'The details of the resurrection are irrelevant. What is important is that an event occurred that transformed those who were close to it, and those who had been close to him.' He made the point that the real miracle of Easter is the manner in which the lives of the apostles had been transformed by the resurrection of the master. They had fled from Calvary a broken and dejected group of people; their hero had died. The one on whom they had pinned their hopes for years had been executed as a criminal. They fled from Calvary hill to lock themselves into the upper room at Jerusalem, believing their own lives to be in danger. Then suddenly they are transformed into eloquent preachers, brave men and women for whom death held no fear. This surely, rather than the moved stone or the missing body, is the ultimate proof of the resurrection of the master. Something happened which convinced them he was still alive again. That something we call resurrection. Their hope, so cruelly ended on Calvary hill, is now revived and transformed into a vital driving force. They are literally new men. Yet, death as a cold fact has not been abolished. Death is a legacy we have all inherited. But its power over them and over us has been broken. And because its power has been broken, fear has been banished from their lives.
Jesus did not of course stumble towards death accidentally. His death could well be interpreted as the result of a series of unselfish choices, especially his decision to go up to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. That city had a bad name because of the way it dealt with men like Jesus down through history. He himself had called Jerusalem 'the graveyard of the prophets'. Several times he had signalled to his close companions that he would meet a violent death, but that new life would be the end result. The symbol he used to convey this reality was Baptism. Baptism was the doorway into this new life. 'Unless you are born again of water and the Holy Spirit you shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven', he told Nicodemus. We have all been joined to Christ in baptism. Through baptism we have become his body. We will ritually express that commitment once more today when we all renew our baptismal promises.
As Christians we believe that Easter has introduced us to the mystery of life; it has plunged us deep into that mystery. At the heart of that mystery is human suffering. This is the question with which every thinking human being must struggle. Many good and innocent people experienced their suffering as meaningless waste. And of course much of it is. However, we also know that selfless love has suffering as a frequent companion. It seems to be the price demanded by our scheme of things. And this seems to be supremely so in the case of Jesus. His entire life, based utterly on selfless love, offers us a glimpse of the New Creation. Not even death could deter him from following the father's plan. The Father's response to this unselfish behaviour was to restore him to us as Lord and Saviour. The fact of death remains. The significance of the fact has been transformed. The believer can no longer view death as the doubtful gift of an indifferent God. Because of Good Friday, we can now speak of the suffering and Death of God. God is no longer an indifferent figure in the skies. He is passionately involved in the lives of his people. He is beside them, suffering with them. Because of Easter Day, no human being will ever die alone again. God the son suffered and died; God the Father suffered the loss of his Son. But the mystery has been deepened and enriched. This is the reality we try to absorb during this Easter vigil and indeed through the entire of the Easter Season.