Contemplating today's Gospel: 200 priests comment on daily Gospel each day
Contemplating today's Gospel
Liturgic day: Easter Sunday (Vigil Mass · C)
Gospel text (Lc 24,1-12): On the sabbath the women rested according to the commandment, but the first day of the week, at dawn, they went to the tomb with the perfumes and ointments they had prepared. Seeing the stone rolled away from the opening of the tomb, they entered and were puzzled to find that the body of the Lord Jesus was not there.
Two men in dazzling garments appeared beside them. In fright the women bowed to the ground. But the men said, «Why look for the living among the dead? (You won’t find him here. He is risen). Remember what he told you in Galilee, that the Son of Man had to be given into the hands of sinners, be crucified, and rise on the third day».
And they recalled Jesus’ words. Returning from the tomb, they informed the Eleven and their companions. Among the women who brought the news were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. But however much they insisted, those who heard did not believe the seemingly nonsensical story. Then Peter got up and ran to the tomb. All he saw there on bending down were the linen cloths. He went home wondering.
Comment: Mons. Joan Enric VIVES i Sicília Bishop of Urgell (Lleida, Spain)
MASS DURING DE DAY (Jn 20:1-9) «Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and believed»
Today, «is the day when the Lord has acted», as we shall be singing throughout Easter time. As this is the expression of Psalm 117 that fills out the celebration of our Christian faith. The Father has resurrected Jesus Christ, His beloved Son, whom He indulges in because He has loved to the point of giving his life for all of us.
Let us live this Easter with plenty of joy. Christ has risen: so let us celebrate it full of joy and love. Death, sin and sadness, have today been defeated by Jesus Christ... and He has opened the doors to a new life, the real life, the life we owe to the grace of the Holy Spirit. Nobody should be sad. Christ is our Peace and our Path forever and ever. Today, He «fully reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear» (Vatican Council II, Gaudium et Spes 22).
The great sign the Gospel gives us today is that Jesus' tomb is empty. We have to look no more among the dead for He who is alive has risen. And his disciples, that later on will see him risen, that is, will experience him alive in a wonderful meeting in faith, also realize his tomb is empty. An empty tomb and apparitions will be the great signs for the believer's faith. The Gospel says that «finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed» (Jn 20:8). Through his faith he realizes that the emptiness and the linen cloths lying flat and the napkin rolled up in its place, were all signs God had been there, signs of the new life. Love can see signals where others cannot and small signs may suffice. «The other disciple whom Jesus loved» (Jn 20:2) was led by the love he had received from Christ.
The “seeing and believing” of the disciples must also be our aim. We renew our paschal faith. That Christ be our Lord in everything we do. Let his Life revitalize ours and let us renew the grace of the baptism we have received. Let us become his apostles and disciples. Let us be guided by love and announce to all our happiness to believe in Christ. Let us be hopeful witnesses of his Resurrection.