Christ is risen, alleluia!
Several years ago, when I was coming into the faith, my mother happened to ask me what Easter meant. As a Hindu, she had never considered it before. I told her that it marked the day on which Jesus rose from the dead. She stared back at me and replied, “Well, that never really happened, did it?”
Her words have stayed with me. On one hand, her disbelief echoes our modern culture’s own response to the resurrection of Christ. Surely that could never happen, declares the world today; and so for many people, the reality of the Gospel is mere legend. On the other hand, though, her words remind me of the radical, shocking truth upon which our faith stakes its claim: Jesus who was crucified rose bodily from the dead.
This is the explosive good news of Christianity. Something happened.
Conquering Death
If there is one thing common to all people it is the fact that we will die. We cannot escape the death of our bodies. Yet in today’s readings we encounter up close the strange and startling truth that Christ has conquered death. Moreover, he has not simply been revived back to life in mortal flesh, but has been glorified to new life in a body that is both tangible and imperishable.
As Peter declares, “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” In Christ’s resurrection from the dead, we see that death is no longer the end of the story for each of us. Death itself has been swallowed up by his resurrection.
Too Good to be True?
If this is really true—if Jesus truly rose from the dead, as we read in all four Gospels—why do so many people still refuse to believe? Why do so many reject the astonishing good news of Jesus’ resurrection—a gift which promises our own resurrection?
It may be that perhaps the gift is too good to be true for many, like the blast of sunlight in one’s face after one has been in the dark. Surely, says the world, God could not love us that much; God would not die for us. To believe in the resurrection is to say yes to the overwhelming love of God, a love which shatters the stone walls of the ego and immerses it in truth. For many, it is easier to disbelieve and remain as one is, than to confront such light.
As I reflected on today’s Gospel reading, I was struck keenly by the response of the Pharisees to the account of Jesus’ resurrection. Matthew tells us that the Roman guards witnessed the strange and unsettling event surrounding the resurrection, when an angel of the Lord rolls away the stone of the tomb. They then go to the chief priests to explain what has happened. Consider what the natural reaction to such a miracle would have been: amazement, fear, and wonder. Might they not have realized that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead, as he had foretold?
Instead, they respond by attempting to cover up the miracle as quickly as possible. They do not even do it very well, for they offer a rather flimsy story in place of the truth, telling the guards to say they were sleeping when the disciples came and stole the body. Such was their zeal in turning away from the extraordinary light of Jesus’ resurrection.
Embracing the Truth
Let us never become too familiar with this truth of the resurrection, the beating heart of our faith. Let it continue to astonish and overwhelm us. What we honor today and throughout the Christian life is this singular, shattering reality: God became one of us, died for us, and was raised to new life, a life tangible and real to the disciples who encountered him. Yes, friends, God loves you that much.
