Easter Sunday
Easter Sunday
01 April 2018
Homily
One of the difficulties we have in visualising some events of the Gospel is how much technology has changed things. Today we have so much light pollution that, unless you have gone bush, most people have no idea of just how dark night can be. So, it is hard to grasp just how much courage Mary Magdalene is demonstrating here.
Just as the male disciples had fled and hidden at Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, they are still hiding. If caught, depending on who by, the least she could look forward to was being “roughed up”. Given the grief she must have been feeling, imagine the impact of seeing the tomb open! She must have wondered at how much more humiliation they were intending.
You will notice that she has’nt gone in, instead racing back to the male disciples to share the news. Peter and the other disciple have run off, but it is Peter who ventures into the tomb. Significantly, the cloth that covered Jesus’ head has been rolled and put to one side. Anyone intending to desecrate the body would not have bothered to do that.
Even so, they must have been incredibly bewildered by the scene. We know that in a few verses, Mary Magdalene will meet the Risen Christ, but we do not hear it today.
Have you ever been perplexed or bewildered by events? Sometimes we need to stop and reflect on things to realise their significance. Over this weekend, as Catholics we have been participating in a subversive activity. We have been remembering and passing on the story.
This is subversive because so much of our discourse and emphasis is on the immediate, right now! Our culture does not encourage reflection – it wants responses at once. Hence hot cross buns appear in January, Christmas decorations in November, if not October!
A challenge to each of us is to remember, reflect and pass on the story. Can each of us take this challenge?