Filipinos are said to be more attuned to Good Friday than to Easter. We are only beginning to awaken to the morning of Easter, to leave behind what appears to us so natural—misery and death. John’s account of Easter morn (20:1-9) invites us into the reality of the supernatural intended for us.
The empty tomb and the burial linens
Yes, an empty tomb does not prove the resurrection of Jesus Christ, nor is it the basis of the Christian faith in the resurrection. It is a component of the early tradition that leads us to the core of the story, the appearances of the risen Jesus to His followers. The earliest testimonies to the resurrection of Jesus did not include the empty tomb (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:5), but all the four evangelists would speak of it. For the primary question was: Where is He who was laid in the tomb? Mary of Magdala came to the tomb in the early morning of the first day of the (Jewish) week and saw that the huge stone at the entrance had been moved aside. She was immediately gripped with fear that some foul people have taken Jesus away. In panic she ran to where Peter and the beloved disciple could be found and reported her discovery.
The ambivalence of the empty tomb could not be denied. To His enemies, the body of Jesus was taken away by His followers (Matthew 28:13); to His friends, some people must have taken Him away. If he was taken away, as the chief priests had the story circulated, then it was not by His own friends, John here certified, because they themselves found the tomb already empty. But one thing is beyond doubt, the body that was no longer there was that of the one crucified, who died and was buried in that tomb. And the cloths, with which the body was wrapped according to Jewish custom, were there, neatly rolled up in one side while in a separate place was the cloth that had covered Jesus’ face. Seeing these items there in the empty tomb was thrice mentioned by the evangelist. The body of Jesus was not taken away by anybody. He left those burial linens behind.
The witnesses
It is remarkable how tightly the Easter morn narration flowed. Starting off with the incomplete report of Mary Magdalene who rashly surmised that the open tomb meant a stolen body, we are treated next with the race to the tomb by Simon Peter and the beloved disciple. Whether because of youth or of being more driven, the disciple got to the tomb ahead of Peter. Pointedly He did not go in at once; He deferred to Peter to be the first one to enter and formally witness to the empty tomb and the burial cloths.
Our apostolic witnesses obviously had to go through stages
of understanding and faith. The beloved disciple Himself at first without
entering the tomb bent down and established that it was empty and that the
burial cloths were there. Next, together with Peter inside the tomb, He looked
around and saw and believed. The first one to arrive at the tomb was the first
one said to believe, just as He would be the first one to recognize the Risen
Lord in His appearance to the disciples on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias (John
21:7). He definitely was driven by something more than just what could be
understood. Rather He came to understand things because He believed and He
loved much. Tellingly the inspired writer noted that “they did not yet
understand the Scripture that He had to rise from the dead.” They still had to
encounter the glorious Christ to understand even what was written. And they
began with the experience of the empty tomb and the burial cloths before coming
face to face again with Jesus.
Alálaong bagá, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the living faith attested to by witnesses who experienced Him alive after He was executed and was buried. It is our experience of the mystery and the reality of the risen Jesus also in our lives, without which the entire faith in Him would be empty and meaningless (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:19). It is our conviction that the victory of Jesus was not simply the happy ending of His stay with us, but the definitive beginning of our new life in Him. Now, life and resurrection and glory belong to His entire Church-body and to all people who believe. Yes, also to the Filipino people enmeshed in self-interests, corruption and poverty, and challenged to proceed, beyond violence and death and Good Fridays, into the light of Easter morn.
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