For use on Easter Sunday, April 8:
- A Reflection on Easter
- MP3 file (approximate length – 5:49)
A Reflection on Easter Sunday
by Sr. Juliana Casey, IHM, Ph.D.
The Stone is Gone
In the long, painful Lenten journey, we learn that the end is not the end. Life wins.
The crucified one is now the risen one. This terrible, tragic story has a happy
ending. It is almost too good to be true. And it remains so.
After the death of Jesus and after the Sabbath had passed, some women go to
his borrowed tomb in order to anoint the body. They were undoubtedly in despair.
The one they had hoped in had been killed. Yet they wanted to honor his body, to
do what they could do, and so they went to the tomb where Jesus was buried.
The tomb where Jesus had been laid was like a cave in which bodies were to be
placed. Its entrance was secured with a large stone. One person could not move
the stone. If the women were to attend to Jesus' body, they knew they would
need someone to roll it back. However, when they arrived at the tomb, the stone
had been moved.
They looked into the tomb and were astonished. The body of Jesus was not
there, but an angel was. Accounts of this encounter differ in details; however,
each account has the angel saying the same three things: "He has been raised."
"Do not be afraid." "Go, tell the others."
With these three admonitions, the meaning of Lent is finally clear. The length to
which God's love will go is made visible in God's Son. This love will carry us and
all our sin, our weakness, our blindness and smallness into and through death.
All the worst that can happen to us, all the worst that we can do … these are held
by Jesus as he cries "forgive them." Because that love is stronger than anything,
God raises Jesus from the dead. God's love is life, and life for us. God's love is
stronger than anything we can do to thwart it. "He has been raised."
The second message, do not be afraid, addresses the state of the women. They
were astonished, confused, bewildered and frightened. Just as the angel's first
statement was meant for all of us, so too was the second. The triumph of life in
the raising of Jesus can take away our fear as well. All is forgiven. Mercy and
love triumph. God's loving kindness is stronger than everything—even death.
We need no longer fear. Our hearts can be at ease in this mercy.
Finally, the angel tells the women to go and tell the others. With these words, the
angel gives the call to discipleship, to proclamation. Now we understand why the
gospels are called "Good News." They are a story filled with conflict,
misunderstanding, suffering and altogether bad behavior. They are also a story
of healing, of sensitivity, of welcome, of compassion, of constancy of love, of
strength amidst weakness, of life in death. God has shown the lengths to which
God will go to save us and draw us close.
The stone has gone. That which has blocked us all our lives has been rolled
away. That which we fear no longer carries such power. We have something
wonderful to tell. The stone has gone away.
For Moses and the Israelites, the sign of the serpent is a symbol of healing.
Christians have chosen the cross. It, too, is a sign of healing. The healing of the
world.
The Catholic health care ministry, with its deep commitment to healing, is a
precious and beautiful sign that God loves all of us, even into and beyond death.
Let us honor our ministry and be grateful that we are a part of it.
Alleluia!
The Catholic Health Association would like to thank Jon Sarta for allowing us to use his music from the albums "The Catholic Music Project Volume V: Lent," and "The Catholic Music Project Volume VI: Easter" for the podcast version of this reflection. His music can be obtained from mljmusic.com.