Vol.5 No.29 DoM Easter Reflection
March 27, 2015——John 20:1-9
By Cindy Warner
If you were with us last week we walked the Way of the Cross with Mary as beautifully presented by Libby Little. It was deeply moving and I’m sure many of us felt and could possibly associate with Mary’s sorrows.
Today we are here to reflect on the fulfillment and fruits of those sorrows. Jesus’ resurrection, the triumph of good over evil, sin and death, which proves that those who trust in God and accept Christ will be raised from the dead.
The Empty Tomb.*
1On 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.
Sunday is the first day of the Jewish week, recalling the first creation.Matthew, Mark & Luke mention other women in their Gospels. John only mentions Mary Magadala, whose love for Jesus necessitated that she be with Him during His entire Passion. Is it possible that these women were the first of our religious sisters just as the Apostles were our first priests?
2 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.” 3 So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. 4 They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; 5 he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
As explained in the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible “John defers to Peter by letting Him enter the tomb first. This is more than a polite gesture, as it reflects his deference to the preeminent honor and authority Jesus has bestowed on Peter. ”
6 When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
7 and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
The Ignatius Study Bible points out that this is “Corroborating evidence of the Resurrection. No thief would have taken the time to unwrap Jesus’ corpse and fold His burial clothes neatly in the tomb. In any case, the grave robbers of antiquity usually stole the expensive linens and left the body behind, not the other way around.”
8 Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. 9 For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead.
The title for this gospel in Matthew, Mark & Luke is The Resurrection of Jesus. In John’s gospel it is The Empty Tomb. Ignatius Study Bible states, “The empty tomb is the indisputable fact of Easter morning, as testified to even the Roman soldiers who guarded the site. (Mt 28:11-15). The disappearance of Jesus is the first indication that He has risen as He said. (Mt 20:17-19). This is confirmed by several appearances throughout the next 40 days.
As we meditate on the First Glorious Mystery of the Rosary, The Resurrection, we pray for faith, to believe as John did. #143 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church states “By faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God.2 With his whole being man gives his assent to God the revealer. Sacred Scripture calls this human response to God, the author of revelation, “the obedience of faith”.
Our first profession of faith is at our Baptism, either by our parents and godparents as an infant or child or as the RCIA Catechumens who will be received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil. And at the Mass of Cristian Burial, our faith is remembered when the casket is sprinkled with Holy Water, just as we were at Baptism. We also profess our faith when we say the Apostles Creed, considered to be a faithful summary of the apostles’ faith, “the oldest Roman catechism” and at Mass when we recite the Nicene Creed.
Who is the perfect example of “obedience of faith”?
CCC 144 Obey is from the Latin ob-audire, which is to “hear or listen to”. To obey in faith is to submit freely to the word that has been heard, because its truth is guaranteed by God, who is Truth itself. Abraham is the model of such obedience offered us by Sacred Scripture. The Virgin Mary is its most perfect embodiment.
Mary is not mentioned in this Gospel. Some sources say that when Mary Magdala says
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.”, this “we” also includes Mary. (Ignatius Study Bible) Some say Jesus appeared to Mary first. I like to think the loving son Jesus would go to His mother first. The one, who as we saw last week, shared His Passion.
Pope St. John Paul II believed Mary was the first to see the Resurrected Jesus. In his general audience of Wednesday, 21 May 1997 he offered several reasons for concluding that the first person to see the resurrected Lord was His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. I’ll mention two of them.
Love Opens the Door to Understanding and Knowledge.
Hopefully we all love our own mothers. Jesus, who is the perfect Son, loved his mother even more. Being God He perfectly fulfilled the 4th commandment. Jesus loves everyone, but Mary was most open and therefore she is the most perfect vessel to receive that love. If we would want to console our own mother’s sorrow, how much more so would Jesus.
An Argument of Justice.
Pope St. John Paul II explains why Justice leads us to this conclusion. Mary heard the hammer striking the nails as her Son was fastened to the cross. She saw with her own eyes the lance as it pierced His side and the water and blood that poured out onto the ground. Mary was in perfect union with the Son in his suffering on the Cross. So, from an argument based on justice we have another reason to conclude that Mary would have been the first to share in the joy of His Resurrection.
Or perhaps, it’s not mentioned in the scriptures because it was such an intimate moment for Mother and Son and it could not be described in words.
As we prepare for the joy of the risen Christ, may we like Mary strive for obedience and perfect faith as we pray the Regina Caeli.
Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia:
For He whom you merited to bear, alleluia,
Has risen, as He said, alleluia.
Pray for us to God, alleluia.
References
New American Bible RE – Laudate App Version
Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament – page 199
Catechism of the Catholic Church #144 – 149
Defendingthebride.com/pp/tomb – Was Jesus the first to see our Resurrected Lord? Pope John Paul II thought so.
Author Info
