A season of grace
April 20, 2025 – The Resurrection of the Lord, The Mass of Easter Day
Readings: Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Psalm 118, R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.; 1 Corinthians 5:6b-8; Gospel – John 20:1-9
Today’s Resurrection narrative in the Gospel of John includes two familiar elements common to other Resurrection narratives, and one element unique to this one.
The first common element is the grace of the Resurrection being revealed first to those closest to the Lord.
The second is how the experience of the Resurrection inspires the mission to proclaim the Good News.
The third element, unique to today’s narrative, is the empty tomb.
Common in the Resurrection narratives is the Risen Lord first appearing to those closest to him. He appeared first to the women who were very much a part of his community, and who were very devoted to him and his ministry.
Then the Risen Lord appeared to the disciples who formed his core community.
St. Ignatius of Loyola wrote that even if scripture does not say it, he is certain that the Risen Lord first appeared to his mother because of how close she was to him.
Lent and Holy Week each year give us a season of grace to renew the grace of the Resurrection in our life as we went through 40 days of prayer, penance and works of mercy. These prepared us by renewing and deepening our relationship with God.
It will be good, as we celebrate the great feast of Easter, to look back and take stock of our Lenten journey, leading us to the commemoration and celebration of the Passion, Cross and Resurrection of our Lord.
It is an experience of clearing the obstacles to grace in our life so that the grace of a renewed personal relationship with the Lord may flow in and through our life and person.
In this spiritual journey of 40 days and the celebration of the Easter Triduum, we are led to and given the grace to encounter the Lord as our personal Lord and Savior.
As the popular song goes, “We remember how you loved us to your death, and still we celebrate for you are with us here. And we believe that we will see you when you come in your glory Lord, we remember, we celebrate, we believe.”
We remember. We celebrate. This is the gift of the past days—remembering his love, the loving obedience that gave us our salvation in the one perfect sacrifice of the Cross, and celebrating the grace of the Resurrection.
Salvation
This flow of grace gives us also the second common element. We believe the renewal of our faith in the promise of our salvation, our faith in and experience of the Resurrection.
In today’s Gospel, as is also true in other Resurrection narratives, the experience or the news of the Resurrection always results in proclaiming that “the Lord is Risen!” It always inspires mission.
In today’s Gospel, we saw Mary Magdalene running to Peter and to John to deliver the news of the empty tomb. And upon receiving the news, the two ran to the empty tomb.
The authentic experience of the Resurrection, an encounter with the Risen Lord, always resulted in a burst of inspiration to proclaim he is Risen, which is central to our proclamation of the Good News.
How has this journey towards our Easter faith renewed our sense of mission—the joy of proclaiming that life does not end in death, that the Cross has overcome sin and death as evidenced by the Resurrection?
Finally, the empty tomb, as a deep symbol of the Resurrection. The Gospel tells us that John the Beloved saw the empty tomb and he believed.
This is the flow of grace deep in our hearts. Our Lenten and Holy Week journey is a spiritual journey that clears obstacles to grace in our life and person, emptying us just as Jesus emptied himself of his divinity and of all that he was and had. That was when, out of loving obedience, he offered to the Father, “Not my will, but your will be done.”
We come to our empty tomb so that the grace of the Resurrection may come to life in us. We offer our life—all that we are and have—always in the empty tomb where it is possible.
“Not my will, but your will be done” was concretely expressed in the empty tomb.
The Father’s will, expressed through Jesus and kept alive by the Spirit, is the joy of the Resurrection.
Alleluia, the Lord is Risen! This is God’s final word. This is the Good News of our salvation.
