All the Easter People of Hope of Epiphany 

EASTER SUNDAY 

Grief Met Grace at the Empty Tomb 
Easter Sunday of the Lord’s Resurrection: John 20:1-2, 11-18 
(20 April 2025) 

Christòs anesti! – “Christ is risen; he is truly risen!” In this traditional proclamation of the Churches of the East, the word “truly” reminds us that our hope is not an illusion, but the truth! And that, in the wake of Easter, humanity’s journey, now marked by hope, advances all the more readily. The first witnesses of the resurrection show this by their example. The Gospels speak of the haste with which, on the morning of Easter, the women “ran to tell the disciples” (Mathew 28:8). Mary Magdalene “ran and went to Simon Peter” (John 20:2), while John and Peter himself then “ran together” (John 20:4) to the place where Jesus had been buried. 
(Pope Francis, Urbi et Orbi Easter Message, 2023) 

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia! 

Dear parishioners, Easter is the heart of our faith, the day that changes everything-not just for Jesus, but for all of us. We are not gathered here simply to commemorate a moment in history. We are here to proclaim a living truth: Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. When Mary Magdalene came to the tomb, she came expecting to find death. Instead, she found the stone rolled away. The empty tomb startled her-but it did not yet give her joy. It was only when she encountered the risen Christ that everything made sense. 

In the depths of despair and death, we find Mary Magdalene lingering just outside the tomb, weeping inconsolably. Because of the Jewish Sabbath, she had been waiting impatiently at home until she could slip out at dawn to anoint Jesus’s body. In earlier years, she had faithfully kept company with him in his ministry, avidly drinking in his every word about God’s compassionate love, and watching, mesmerized, as he healed the sick, fed the hungry, and hobnobbed with outcasts. Then, on Calvary, when the other disciples cowardly slinked away, Magdalene fearlessly stood by him, keeping mournful watch with Mary, his mother and John, the disciple he loved. She stayed on too as Joseph of Arimathea took his body down from the cross and laid it in the tomb. And now, three days later, crushed by grief, she returns to prepare that corpse for burial. 

It is where our story takes a dramatic turn. She finds that the stone which secured the entrance to the tomb has been shoved aside. She spies two angels, and then, someone else whom she mistakes for the caretaker. “Sir” she says, “if you have carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” It wasn’t just those cascading tears that blurred Magdalene’s vision. Whatever hope she held had died with Jesus on the Cross. Whatever faith sustained her had crumbled when she caressed his mangled body and laid it in the tomb. On that early Easter morn, she was simply incapable of believing that he could still be alive … until he utters that one word – her name – Mary. “My sheep know my voice and they follow me.” The tone and timbre of Jesus’s voice breaks through her incredulity. She recognizes him, her heart melts, and she runs to embrace him. 

However, after a tender moment, the Risen Christ chides, “Do not cling to me.” But, far from an ungracious rebuff, that somewhat disconcerting phrase – Do not cling to me – is really an invitation for her to relate to him in a new way. “Let go of your old ideas about me,” he says: “Surrender your fears. Release your despair. Abandon the idea that nothing has changed, because everything has changed. Be open to it, Mary.” 

Of all the post-Resurrection stories, this encounter between Jesus and Mary Magdalene has to be the most intimate. But do not allow the affective dynamism of their reunion distract you from its deeper importance. Because of Magdalene’s dogged faithfulness and her unwavering loyalty to Jesus – but most of all, because of her sensitive ability to perceive things with eyes of faith – Jesus appoints this woman as a leader to the other early Church leaders. Our Christian faith in the resurrection of Christ the risen Lord, therefore, depends principally on the testimony of Mary Magdalene. This fact speaks eloquently of the important role of women in our Faith, and Mary Magdalene stands in a long line of women who have loved and served Christ, who have told others about him, who have witnessed to the truth of the Gospel, and who have been, for most of us, our first teachers and preachers of the Gospel. How momentous! 

So what does the Resurrection mean for us today? Hope is alive. No matter how dark the night, the morning comes. Whatever grave you may feel trapped in-suffering, loss, sin-the stone can be rolled away. Sin is defeated. The Cross has conquered. Easter means our sins, no matter how deep, do not define us. In Christ, we are forgiven and made new. Life is eternal. Death is not the end of the story. Jesus’ rising opens heaven’s doors to all who believe in Him. This is not just a promise for the future—eternal life begins now. The Resurrection is not just an event-it is a Person. Jesus Himself is our life, our victory, our peace. 

The contrast of light and darkness, blindness and sight runs throughout John’s Gospel account. Today we discover what, ultimately, John is speaking of: the darkness of Good Friday to the brightness of Easter; from Mary initially arriving at the tomb in the dark, a darkness that left her unable to see, to her encounter with the light of the risen Christ that enables her to declare: “I have seen the Lord.” 

Today is the greatest feast of our Christian faith. Easter is not just a celebration of an event in history-it is the very foundation of our hope, our joy, and our new life. The tomb is empty. Death has been conquered. Love has triumphed. 

Think of Mary Magdalene, Peter, and John as they approach the tomb that morning. They are filled with grief, fear, confusion. But what do they find? An open tomb. A burial cloth left behind. And slowly, their despair gives way to wonder. Their sorrow gives way to joy. 

The Resurrection does not erase the wounds of Good Friday-it transforms them. The Risen Jesus still bears the marks of the nails. But now, those marks are no longer signs of defeat-they are signs of victory. And this is the power of Easter: not that suffering is avoided, but that suffering is redeemed. Sin is forgiven. Death is defeated. Life is made new. 

St. Paul tells us: “If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above.” Easter is not just Christ’s rising-it is our rising too. We are called to rise from the tombs of our own fear, despair, sin, and indifference. We are called to live as people of the Resurrection. 

Dear Epiphany, so today, let us ask ourselves: Where in my life do I need resurrection? What tomb have I been sitting in-one of guilt, bitterness, hopelessness? Am I ready to let Christ roll away the stone? 

Easter tells us that no stone is too heavy for God. No night is too dark. No death is too final. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in us-right now. Let us go forth with Easter joy, with Easter courage, and with Easter love. And let us proclaim with our lives: Christ is risen. He is truly risen. Alleluia! Happy Easter to One and All: 

The Risen Christ: Mary Magdalene’s Joyful Discovery! 
He Called Her by Name: Hope Rose! 
The Tomb was Empty: But Her Heart was Full! 
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! 

Fraternally, 
Fr. John Peter Lazaar SAC, Pastor