Easter – The Celebration Of The Unprecedented Resurrection Of Jesus Christ

Fr Dexter Brereton, CSSp 

You know, sisters and brothers, in the news media, the most common word to summarize the current coronavirus pandemic we are now experiencing is “unprecedented.” Well this morning, you and I are gathered to celebrate the fact that something “unprecedented” took place with Jesus. Something so unusual, something so unique, the followers of Jesus had to borrow heavily from their own Jewish tradition, especially from the story of the Exodus, which up to that time was the greatest event in the history of the Jewish people, in order to put these strange events into words. According to one scholar, the violence and scandal of Jesus’ death on the cross seemed the end of everything…Even Jesus’ disciples apparently saw his death as the end of their hopes. They retuned disappointed and resigned to their own families.

At the heart of the mystery of Easter however, is this incredible fact. In spite of his terrible fate, in spite of his awful end, the story of Jesus of Nazareth did not end there…in the darkness of the tomb. What happened to Jesus, is that soon after his death, his followers quickly came to the conviction that he continued to be alive and present among them in a new and powerful way. As the unseen force guiding and driving the work of their community. This living on of Jesus, his persistence in life is what the bible terms “resurrection.” In Greek, anastasis, Literally a “bringing back from death .” THIS IS THE SOURCE OF OUR AMAZEMENT, OUR JOY AND OUR HOPE. THIS IS THE REASON WHY WE DARE TO BELIEVE THAT AS TERRIBLE AS THE CONDITION OF THE WORLD TODAY, GOD HOLDS THE FUTURE IN HIS HANDS AND INDEED, WE SHALL OVERCOME OUR PRESENT SUFFERINGS.

For our own edification, it is important to remark a few things about the resurrection. First, it is to be distinguished from a “resuscitation.” Resuscitation is what happened to Lazarus. Jesus raised Lazarus from death, he returns to his earthly life and he would later grow old and die again. The resurrected life however is qualitatively and radically different from the life which you and I enjoy right now. Faith in the resurrection of Jesus, rings throughout all the books of the New Testament. Resurrection faith is proclaimed by Easter stories and by Easter Proclamation or Kerygma, which are short formulas or expressions of belief in the resurrection. The earliest such statement of belief in the resurrection is though to be a famous statement found in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians Chapter 15, verses 3 to 8: Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, he was buried , he was raised on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures and he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

One of the striking features of resurrection faith according to scholars is the fact that women are central to the story. They are apparently the first witnesses. This is offered as a proof for the authenticity of these stories. You see women were not seen as reliable witnesses, and the fact that the evangelists do not seek to disguise this embarrassing fact indicates a community very concerned about illustrating to others that its testimony about Jesus was absolutely true and accurate. The bible also makes it clear that the resurrection is not something “out there” observable to anyone with a camera. Jesus’ new and powerful presence in the world is one that requires an open heart and an open mind. Jesus’ enemies could not see him in his resurrected state since their minds were closed.

This brings us back to the women. We read: After the Sabbath, and towards dawn on the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala and the other Mary went to visit the sepulcher…Our Lectio Divina encourages us to identify with each character of the story in turn and to allow every little detail to speak to our imagination. The time of the visit was very significant.: Towards dawn…on the first day of the week…in other words, while it was still dark, when things were still cloudy and murky, something wonderful and “new” began to happen.

As I read these words, it strikes me that women have always been the ones who visit the tomb, the ones in life who know how to keep hope in the face of apparent disaster and failure. A favourite story of mine is that of an elderly aunt of mine for whom her eldest daughter bought a very expensive bedspread from New York. She presented it to her mom for her birthday and went off happy. She became enraged however when she heard that her mom had given the expensive gift over to her only son, a womanizer and a gambler who had made a mess of his marriage and his career and was now living in a tiny one-bedroom apartment. His sisters had given him up as a lost cause but his mother kept hope to the point of being prepared to ‘waste’ love, in the form of an expensive gift, on him. I cannot really say that her gesture was life-giving for her prodigal son but it was certainly life-giving for me looking on as it taught me a powerful lesson on love.

In our society, others have, in their own way been powerful witnesses of faith, continuing to visit the tomb of ideas that they consider dear and precious not only for them but for the whole society. The great ‘mas man Peter Minshall, serves as a powerful reminder of appreciation for the arts and for theatre in a society that is very often quite crude and lacking in appreciation, we have seen the growth of small political parties and even pressure groups which, though constantly defeated at the polls, continue to visit the tombs of the ideas that they hold dear, knowing that in time these ideas will rise and bear fruit.

The women of Matthew’s resurrection story then teach a powerful lesson on the kinds of citizen that we need going forward. The coronavirus, I have heard, will leave the world in a significantly weakened state. We are going to need people like Mary of Magdala and the other Mary who hold on to hope, even in the gloom of dawn, people who hold on, never giving in to despair but willing, to raise up from the economic ashes left by the global pandemic a world that is more fair and mor just, where there is food and employment for everyone. Amen.