A couple of years ago, shortly before my ordination as a priest, my fellow classmates and I were able to visit the Holy Land. It is a place filled with the top sites that you’d ever want to see. There are places that are important for the Apostles, for Mary, for Joseph, but our entire trip was based, primarily, upon the life of Jesus. I remember particularly well arriving at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, because my classmates and I had been excited to see it ever since we found that we’d be going- and the moment finally arrived when we went to see it. Within this massive Church, we found it- the Holy Sepulcher. The very place where Jesus was buried. This truly is a profound moment if you’ve ever experienced it. You can touch the stone which has been worn by thousands of years of pilgrims and pray at the very spot where Jesus’s Body was laid after the Crucifixion.
Yet, to say that alone really doesn’t give that spot enough credit. It is so much more than that. This is the very place where, not only was Jesus laid, but where Jesus was raised. That spot was able to behold the first moments of Jesus’s Resurrection and the power of that awesome Easter morning. It was there when Jesus rolled away the stone and walked out. It was there when the disciples came looking and could not find Jesus there. Truly, this space lived up to its expectation and all the anticipation we had for seeing it.
This should be an invitation, whether we are on pilgrimage or not, to think: why is this spot so important? Why is this slab of rock such a profound place, and why do thousands upon thousands of pilgrims flock to it ever year?
Because: this very spot in the Holy Land changes everything.
We’ve all been going through these days of the Paschal Triduum- the three days that are so packed with essential mysteries to our faith, and we, up until last night, had experienced many joys, but also a profound tragedy: that Jesus had to die upon the Cross. Had this been anyone else who died upon the cross, the end would have been final. It would have been utter ruin and destruction, and there would have been nothing else to say. However, because we are dealing with someone who is much, much different- this moment changes things.
We are all very familiar with the Resurrection accounts, and no matter the Gospel- the core of the message is the same. In the Gospel of John, we hear that it is the first day of the week, and while it is still dark, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. When she arrives, the unthinkable has happened: the stone has been removed from the tomb. It is a moment of sheer terror for her, so much so, that she runs back to the other disciples, and John and Peter are the ones who run out to see the tomb. When they both arrive, Peter goes into the tomb, and he sees the burial cloths that are there, and rolled up. It is here that they must grapple with what has happened! If the body had been stolen, surely the burial cloths would not have still been there! So what has happened? Resurrection.
The fact of what has happened is wildly unexpected. The disciples are still drowsy and numb from what has happened over the days preceding this time. They don’t know what life is going to look like from this point on, and they have lost the one that they had been following and learning from for years! What are they to do now? Where are they to go? On that early Easter morning, it seems as if they are simply going to go about life as normal, and they were prepared to continue to bury Jesus’s Body. What happens when it isn’t there?
The disciples arrive at the tomb that morning- what did they expect to see? It seems, from the account, they expected things to be continuing that dreary trajectory. Yet, their world is again turned on its head- because something has happened that was wildly unexpected!
Truly- this moment changes everything.
And, my brothers and sisters, as we come to Mass this morning, we could treat it as simply another day. We could simply get up and begin to walk to the tomb ourselves. To go about life as normal, and to expect nothing more. But… wouldn’t that be a shame? If we just saw the Holy Sepulcher as a place where Jesus’s Body once rested, and nothing else? The fact is that the disciples walked away from that day with lives changed- not for the worse, but for the better! If we look back at the book of Acts, we hear Peter speaking very clearly about this. You hear a man who has completely been immersed in the mystery of that Easter morning. He relates how Jesus had been put to death, how He had been nailed to the cross, and then how things changed: how God raised Him on the third day- and now, He is a witness to this!
Dare I say… this is also a moment for us to experience that moment as well. Put yourself in the place of the disciples! What does it feel like to know Jesus suffered and died for your sins, and then rises again, showing us in a very real way what our end is to be? We are not meant to die forever either! This moment is good news! Without this Easter morning, we would surely die. Yet, this life is not the end. Death is not the end. Christ’s own Passion and Death on the Cross is not the end! Isn’t this incredible?! Doesn’t this change things for us for the better?!
Because, if we truly allow the word of God to permeate our hearts and our souls- we will do as the Psalmist says and “Rejoice and be glad!”
Life should change for us! It certainly did for the disciples! What does that look like, though? If we take the second reading from the Letter to the Colossians, we are given what to do! If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above! Think of what of what is above, not is on earth! This is the challenge- that this Easter morning gives you and I a choice! We are all hearing the good news! It has been proclaimed to you, and now it is being preached again!
Yet… do you believe it? It is tremendous news! It’s almost to the level of being unbelievable! Yet, we can all go to the stone. We can all arrive at the Holy Sepulcher and see that awesome place. Yet, it does us very little good if we don’t allow that moment to change us- and to change us for the better. When you approach that empty tomb- what changes for you? Are you lifted to rejoice a little more? Are you given hope that old habits of sin will pass away? Are you given the answer to life’s struggles and trials? That is the hope! When we arrive at this moment, it shouldn’t be one amongst others- it should be a moment that defines the others! It should give us the hope that belongs to us- because Jesus has risen! Death is no more- and that should challenge us to embrace that moment!
We should also be bold proclaimers of that Good News! The fact that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb that morning and found that it was empty- she went and immediately told the other disciples the news. She didn’t simply set on it, or perhaps think about it for an hour on Sunday. Her life was changed- and so was Peter and John’s! They went and they boldly proclaimed the news! Yet, that raises an important thing for each of us to ponder- are we so filled with the fire of that Good News that we are willing to tell others? Are we even able enough to tell of this news to those who may not be so ready to hear it? If we are truly grasping the news of this early Easter morning- we should not only allow it to change ourselves- but we should be willing to take it to our brothers and sisters- especially those in most desperate need of that news.
Yes, the Holy Sepulcher is an awesome sight in the Holy Land. Yes, it lives up to the splendor you’d expect. Yet, it isn’t enough to go and see the tomb. We must let the Good News of the empty tomb change our hearts and our souls, and even our entire world.
The tomb is empty. Christ has been raised. Let’s be a people willing to tell the world this Good News with hearts, souls, and lives renewed by this Easter morning.
This moment truly. Changes. Everything.
