“Mary
of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and
saw the stone removed from the tomb.” (John 20:1)
5:42 a.m. One hour before dawn’s first light. Well
before my alarm was supposed to go off, in the quiet and dark of the night, I
was wide awake. A rooster crowed in the
distance, but this time it announced not the denial of a sinner but the triumph
of a Savior. It was Easter morning! There is no greater dawn! There is no greater morning! How could I sleep? I tossed and turned for about an hour and
then walked out the door to see the sunrise.
I sat there on the church steps watching light fill the sky. I thought about the week that was: about the
washing of the feet, the agony in the garden, his betrayal, his trial, his
suffering, his crucifixion, and his death.
Yesterday afternoon I climbed up a ladder to adjust the white cloth on
the crucifix and there I was 20 feet over the sanctuary staring at our
beautiful crucifix and seeing the details on Jesus’ suffering face. Now this morning, that suffering was
gone. He has conquered death. He has conquered sin. Our Savior is alive! How could I sleep?
In the gospel, Peter and
John run to the tomb because they could not believe what Mary Magdalene had
told them. When they get there, they
have to “bend down” to look into and go into the tomb. An act of humility which ties together a
theme that I touched upon on Holy Thursday: humility is how we encounter Christ. Today it is how John encountered the reality
that the Lord was alive. Pope Francis
touched upon this theme this morning when he gave his Easter Blessing: “To
enter into the mystery, we need to “bend down”, to abase ourselves. Only those
who abase themselves understand the glorification of Jesus and are able to
follow him on his way.” It is only when
we humbly come before the Lord that we realize how much he loves us and how
much this day truly means. His victory
is our victory. His triumph is our triumph.
Now we go out like Mary to share this victorious news. Our Lord is alive! How can we sleep?
