John 20: 1-9

It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved.

‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,’ she said, ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’

So Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in.

Simon Peter, following him, also came up, went into the tomb, saw the linen cloths lying on the ground and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself.

Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed.

Till this moment they had still not understood the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.

Gospel Reflection

The resurrection! No one saw it happen: it is too big for that. But in the resurrection of Jesus all of creation is risen, and we human beings walk ‘in newness of life’ as St Paul says. The resurrection is, in the words of Pope Benedict, a cosmic event of love, shattering death.

In the hidden power of the resurrection people of all faiths and none struggle to live good lives in a darkened world—we are all in the birth-pangs of becoming resurrected people. I am one of them. I ask the risen Lord that my life may be an instance of the resurrection. Gerard Manley Hopkins speaks of the comfort of the resurrection. Lord, may it be truly a comfort for me when life is hard or when death draws near to me or those I love. We shall all rise in Christ.