Risen!

  RISEN!

Gospel for Easter Sunday: John 20 1-18.

As per usual at our house, we go up to Edmonton for Easter Sunday morning and attend the Divine Liturgy at St. Josaphat's Cathedral in Edmonton. In the clip below, Bishop Moitiuk, the priests and deacons lead the Easter Troparion, which is echoed by the choir and assembly:

http://youtu.be/0jn6IVtwnnk

The English tradition of the Troparion is:

Christ is risen from the dead,
trampling down death by death,
and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!

This refrain dates back to the first century of Christianity, and is probably the first Christian "hymn". 

After attending the liturgy, I can't help but hum, whistle and sing the chant, well into the rest of the Octave of Easter.

He is Risen!

How do those words resound in our hearts? Are we proclaiming this good news to all our family and friends? What about those of us who educate in and for Catholic schools? Will the first thing we say to our students is "Christ is Risen!" or will it be merely "So how was you holiday?"

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He is Risen!

The Church is proclaiming something beyond time and space. It is the eternal truth of Jesus' victory over sin and death. And while it has a historical moment in first century Palestine, the Resurrection supersedes history. Pope Benedict XVI has a powerful reflection on the importance of the Resurrection in his book  Jesus of Nazareth Part Two: Holy Week:

...The Christian faith stands or falls with truth of the testimony that Christ is risen from the dead...

      If this were taken away, it would still be possible to piece together from the Christian tradition a series of interesting ideas about God and men, about man's being and his obligations, a kind of religious world view; but the Christian faith itself would be dead. Jesus would be a failed religious leader, who despite his failure remains great and can cause us to reflect,  but he would then remain purely human, and his authority would extend only so far as his message is of interest to us. He would no longer be a criterion; the only criterion left would be our own judgement in selecting from his heritage what strikes us as helpful. In other words, we would be alone. Our own judgement would be  the highest instance.

Only if Jesus is risen has anything really new occurred that changes the world and the situation of mankind. Then he becomes the criterion on which we can rely. For God truly revealed himself. ( pgs 241-242) 

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This Easter Sunday, in the Roman Catholic liturgy, the appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene was proclaimed. As with all the Resurrection accounts, we have a sense of the closeness and otherness of God. The narrative begins with Mary discovering that the stone of the tomb had been rolled away. Her first reaction is fear- she does not go in, and assumes that even more tragedy has occurred, and there has been something done to the Lord's body. She runs to tell Peter that "they have taken the Lord out of the tomb"- does she mean the Romans? The Pharisees? Gave robbers? 

Next is the race to the tomb of Peter and "the other disciple". Although the disciple gets there first, he too is reluctant to go in. Fear and confusion have also overwhelmed him. It is only Peter, the first always to act or react, that "enters the tomb". Don't miss the significance of the first head of the Church going into the place of the dead. The symbolism of martyrdom should not be overlooked.

Then, a curious line from John- the other disciple went in, saw the empty tomb and the rolled up linens, and believed. The extent of their belief is difficult to determine, but they were not ready to proclaim "for as yet they did not understand the scripture" so they "returned to their homes". (20.9-10)It will be the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost that will give them the power to proclaim, and the wisdom to see all that was revealed about Jesus in the Old Testament. For now, we have what is known as a "credal account" of the Resurrection. No need to see Jesus here- an empty tomb is enough.

Mary Magdalene will have an entirely different experience. First, she has an encounter with two angels. They are not proclaimers of the good news. They merely asked her why she was weeping. She repeats a second time " they have taken away my Lord". Then the Lord appears to her, but she did not recognize him. So again she is asked, this time by Christ, "why are you weeping?" He calls her by the generic term "Woman". Again, listen to the language. "Woman" reminds us of Eve in the garden, before the fall. Mary thinks Jesus is the gardener and for the third time believes someone has taken Jesus, and so asks Jesus himself if "he carried him away". 

Jesus then calls her by name.

Mary now recognizes him, and wants to hold on to Jesus, the Jesus that she new as "Teacher". Jesus tells her not to "cling" to the old Jesus. "Do not hold to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. The narrative ends with Mary's proclamation of faith "I have seen the Lord!"

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There is so much to unpack in this Resurrection narrative, but I would like us to reflect on the last part. Mary Magdalene and the rest of the disciples wanted to cling to a Jesus that they knew- the Rabbouni, the "Teacher". But Jesus is a new creation, still very much human, but now in complete union with the Father. Once ascended, the disciples will be able to "hold on" to Jesus, now and forever. For now, the disciples are called to proclaim the good news of the Resurrection and our deliverance.

Through his death, Jesus Christ has trampled death by death!

We who are in the tombs of sin are given Resurrection hope!
Through his Church, we can enter into his Paschal Mystery!

Christ is Risen!

For This Week:

For Catholic Educators:  Fill your classrooms and hallways with the Good News! This is a time for flowers, white linens and Resurrection banners. Greet your students with "Christ is Risen!" Spend as much time celebrating Easter in your school as you did preparing for it during Lent!

For All of us: Take time to read the Resurrection accounts in all four Gospels. What similarities are present in the accounts? Which accounts are completely different?