Reflection : John 20:1-9
The Easter event unfolds while it is still dark (Jn 20:1) and we are told Mary of Magdala and other women approached the tomb. However, in Mark’s Gospel, this visit happens “very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen.” John’s Gospel uses the words “dark” and “darkness” several times, to speak of spiritual darkness. Mary, Peter and the ‘beloved disciple’ are all in the darkness of their lack of understanding. But with Mary’s arrival at the empty tomb, the scene shifts dramatically from the gloomy silence of death and darkness to a chain reaction of explosion of life, with a lot of running, and jubilation. The disciples are shaken from their slumber and begin to run! “Mary runs to Simon Peter, and he rushes out with the other disciple … They run together, but the other disciple outruns him …” (Vv. 2-4). Gradually the message gets registered in them: Their Master’s body is missing. The tomb is empty. But “Who took the Master’s body?” Mary was right – somebody took the corpse from the tomb! Peter saw the empty tomb. But the Beloved disciple did something more: he saw and believed! He believed that it was not an act of someone removing his Master’s body, but he had moved out on his own. And, who was this “other disciple” or the “disciple whom Jesus loved?” He represents the ideal disciple who loves and believes in Jesus. He was there at the foot of the Cross and at the tomb during the burial of Jesus. Now he is back at the tomb. He was the only one who saw the tomb before and after the resurrection and he knew the difference. It did not take much time for him to believe. He has no name because we are invited to name ourselves in his slot. The reality of the resurrection is the heart of our faith. The Lord’s Resurrection changed the world. Death, pain sufferings and even sin are no longer able to defeat us because Jesus has defeated all of them for us. The Risen Lord returns to his disciples to comfort and encourage them. Throughout his gospel, John frequently uses a lack of understanding by those who encountered Jesus as a tool for Jesus to offer a further explanation of his identity. The story of Nicodemus, the woman’s accounts at the well, the man born blind, and even Martha and Mary were all examples of moving from a lack of understanding to a conviction. Mary’s lack of understanding at the tomb is also a way to conviction in Jesus’ resurrection. Our Easter needs to become a journey from our unbelief to faith, from darkness to light, from ignorance to wisdom and from death to life.