Jn. 20: 1-9
Easter morning presents to us the experience of three closest disciples of Jesus. The first person is Mary Magdalene. She was never ready to give up on her Lord. In the gospel, we read: “Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark…” (Jn. 20:1). This verse reveals her intimate love for the Master. If we look into the event’s details, several factors can be hindrances to her visit to the tomb. She had witnessed the burial of Jesus, and therefore she knew that the tomb was closed with a mighty stone and sealed. How could Mary remove the stone and anoint the body of her Master? And the soldiers who were guarding the body of Jesus would allow her to move into the tomb freely? Was it safe for her to visit the grave early in the morning? “Love is strong as death…” (Song 8:6). All these hindrances cease before her passionate love for the Master. We can summarize the entire salvation history between the providential figures of two Mary’s. At the annunciation, announced the incarnation of Jesus to the Blessed Virgin Mary and at the tomb, announced the resurrection of Jesus to Mary Magdalene, who became the first witness of the risen Christ. She proclaimed to the apostles that Jesus has risen.
The second disciple is Peter. He was already broken because he could not keep his words to the Mater, and he denied him thrice in his presence. Soon after this tragic death, he had all the possible reasons to think that the story of his Master is over. Yet when Mary says that his body is found missing, he runs to the tomb. Why did he go there? He could have opined that soldiers might have taken away his body. His reason would go for this logical conclusion, but his heart knew that this was not the end of his Master’s story. He did not know about the resurrection of the Lord. Even then, he was not ready to give up on his Master just like his Master who never gave up on him and always gifted him with a second chance.
The third person is John, as soon as he heard from Mary, he runs as fast as he could, faster than Peter. Why? “This is my beloved, and this is my friend…” (Song 5:16). When he sees the cloth that covered Jesus’ body kept aside and the pieces of cloth that covered Jesus folded and kept, he realized that His Master would come again to dine with them. At the meals table, he was the privileged one used to sit close to the bosom of the Master. Yes, he could hear the heartbeats of his Master telling him that “I am the resurrection and the life.”(Jn. 11:25). Then how can he give up on his Master?
Dear friends, all these three disciples had all the possible human reasons to disbelieve in the resurrection of Jesus, but their hearts did not allow them to give up on their Master. It can happen to all of us that our reason may not find any ray of hope; however, we need to allow our heart to never give up on the Lord, just like He has never given up on his trust in us. They could not comprehend the fact of resurrection at that moment. Still, today, even after two thousand years, ‘you and ‘me’ have sufficient reasons and experiences to believe in the active presence of the risen Lord in our history and our personal lives… Let us continue to proclaim to the world, especially to our brethren who encounter hopeless life situation, that He has risen…