Let us make Jesus alive through our joy
Alleluia, Jesus is risen!
The resurrection story of Jesus in the four Gospels did not begin with Peter, James or John, the three favorite disciples but with Mary Magdalene and the other women. Neither did it begin with Jesus' appearance but an empty tomb. In today's Gospel reading, Peter and John saw the inside of the tomb and “returned to their homes” (Jn 20:10). Were they shocked, frightened or simply confused? To them, Jesus is not risen.
Mary Magdalene, in her first visit, thinks that Jesus' body has been stolen (rf Jn 20:2). In her second visit, she still insists that someone has taken away the body of her Lord (rf Jn 20:13). Her self conviction about the tomb robbery has made her dull to the heavenly meeting of the two angels and to Jesus who stood plainly in sight (rf Jn 20:12, 14). To her too, Jesus is not risen.
How about us? Is Jesus risen? Are we fully convicted of His resurrection from the dead? Is our Easter celebration based solely on the transmission of the traditional profession of the Church and her creedal formula (rf CCC 624-655)? When St. John Paul II said in his Angelus reflection during his visit to Australia (November 30, 1986), “We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song!”, he reminded us of our identity — the identity of joy; the joy of knowing that Jesus has “conquered sin and passed through his own pain to the glory of the Resurrection” (St John Paul II Angelus). But this joy has to be actualized, that is, not keeping it to ourselves as a personal and emotional sentiment but like Mary Magdalene, driving her to “depart quickly from the tomb in fear and great joy, and ran to tell [Jesus'] disciples” (Mt 28: 8).
Hence, with full conviction, our Easter celebration should not be limited to the period of Eastertide, if so, we put Jesus back to His tomb for the rest of the year. Jesus was truly dead and risen two thousand years ago. He is fully alive! For us, how much He is alive now corresponds with the amount of joy we have as His followers, how we share with and bear witness to others. True that the risen Jesus did not appear to everybody, but He is made alive through us. Let the experience of the apostles become our experience, let us keep up this Easter joy and boldness, proclaiming that Jesus is risen; He is truly risen, Alleluia!