Easter Sunday- ALLELUIA! Rejoice and be glad!

Written on: April 17, 2019

Readings :  Luke 24:1-12;  John: 20: 1-9

Today is the day that our God has made! 
We rejoice heartily and sing thanks to the One our hearts have sought! 
Darkness has given way to light! 
Death ushers in life.  We will live forever!

The Resurrection of Jesus is the great miracle of our Christian faith!  We do believe Jesus suffered, died and was buried, rose from the tomb and appeared to His followers. “I have risen and I am with you still.” The Risen Christ is with us too, raising us up from our daily deaths.

We have pondered the depths of Jesus’ final days. Perhaps, we accompanied Joseph of Arimathea and a few of Jesus’ grieving friends as they leave the hill of Calvary. They enter a garden wherein there is a new tomb. Herein, Jesus’ life-less body is laid to rest. “It is finished” they say, as Jesus had cried on the Cross; yet what a difference in the meaning of Jesus’ words and theirs!  A very heavy stone is rolled across the entrance to the tomb. The mourners wend their way home to observe Sabbath.

This Sabbath is shrouded in grief. The hopes of Jesus’ followers are shattered and darkness descends upon them. Did He not say He was the light of the world? The light has gone out!

Yet, in the dim shadows within the tomb, can we imagine angels and holy ones kneeling adoringly, surrounding the body of Jesus, a cloud of witnesses keeping watch over the Beloved One? They await the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead!

On the first day of the week, at dawn, the women of Jesus’ company hasten to reach the burial place of Jesus. They carry the myrrh and aloe for the traditional anointing of the body. They enter the garden. All around them are signs of new life, in the budding of trees and flowers, the songs of birds. Approaching the tomb, the women seem puzzled for the stone lies to one side; the opened tomb reveals the place where Jesus had lain, yet He is not there!  A voice from within, speaks to them.

 “Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here; He has been raised!”

Mary Magdalen is among the women at the tomb. She it is who is entrusted with the mission of Jesus.  “Go tell my apostles that I am alive, that they must go to Galilee where I will see them.”  Mary hastens to tell Peter the good news. He listens to this woman, and runs quickly to the tomb, followed by John, the beloved disciple. The body of Jesus is no longer among the dead! They see and they believe! Thus begins the spread of the Good News of our faith!

The shining day of new life has dawned; the world is bathed in the light of the Risen Christ, and hope is born again!

Be of good cheer; rejoice and be glad!

Jesus, risen from the dead, is our life, our hope, our faith. The beloved One sheds his peaceful light on humanity, and remains in our midst today. All is well with this world today!

Alleluia!  Allelluia!  Alleluia!

Sister Mary Charlotte Barton, GNSH has a ministry of prayer and presence at Holy Redeemer Lafayette. She is a former teacher, past President of the GNSH and former Archivist for the Congregation. We are grateful to her for lifting us up with her light-filled view of the world.

Thank you for journeying with us throughout this Lenten Season. The reflections will continue throughout the Easter Season, finishing with the Ascension.

Title photo: Matt/Unsplash

This entry was posted in From our Sisters and tagged: angels, anointing, Apostles, be glad, Calvary, cross, Death, Faith, followers, Galilee, garden, Good News, grieving, hope, Jesus, life, light, Mary Magdalene, miracle, mourners, raised, Rejoice, Resurrection, Risen Christ, Sabbath, tomb, Women