The Challenge of Easter

“And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid: I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He has been raised, as He said. Come see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples, He has been raised from the dead, and indeed He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him.’” (Matthew 28:2-7)
The account of the Resurrection given to us in the Gospel of Matthew shows us the challenges that
confronted many of the individuals who were a part of the life of our Lord. In this short passage we find the guard at the tomb, the women, and also the
disciples. Each responded when confronted with the challenge of the empty tomb and the Resurrection.
First let’s examine the guards. Often times we
overlook the response of people such as this, but it is often instructive. The guards at the tomb were the guards of the chief priests and the Pharisees. They most likely knew exactly what had happened during the entire trial and crucifixion of Jesus. They also most likely knew of the sayings of Jesus that He would rise from the dead. That is in fact exactly why they were there. But when confronted with the rolled back stone, the angel and the empty tomb, they did not believe; they choose to deny what had happened and then went further to participate in a conspiracy to deny it all.
Now let us turn to the women that came to the tomb. They were going to pray, as well as make final
preparations for burial. Because Jesus had been quickly buried as the Sabbath was approaching, the rituals needed to be completed, and they were the ones going to do that. One can also imagine that they wanted to be close to our Lord once again. They had heard His teachings and traveled with Him for three years and now it all seemed to be over. In their grief at the situation, they again wanted to be near Jesus. We can certainly say that, even though they heard the words of Jesus about His suffering, His death and His rising on the third day, they were not expecting to find an empty tomb. And yet when they arrived they were confronted with the challenge of a stone rolled away, an angel and, yes, an empty tomb.
To confront this challenge the women came forward; they approached the angel and listened to his words. They not only listened but followed his direction to take the message to the disciples. In confronting the challenge of the empty tomb, the women’s response is one of questioning that turns to faith and then to action based on that faith. They were afraid, as we know because the angel greets them first with the statement, “Do not be afraid.” But the fear passes. One can image them hearing the words of the angel to “Come, see the place where He lay,” and then
seeing the empty tomb, and thinking back to Jesus’ words that He would “rise on the third day.” Their fear had become faith.
And then this faith turns to action, “Go and tell.” The women did just that. They became at this instance the first proclaimers of the good news of the triumph of Jesus Christ. This news they went on to share with the disciples.
So we also within this story have the disciples of our Lord. After hearing the witness of the women, they went to Galilee, which was their first act of faith, to see Jesus. Scripture tells us that “when they saw Him, they worshipped Him, but some doubted.” (Matthew 28:17) The disciples were coming to stronger and stronger faith in the risen Jesus, by their encounter with Him. Even though some doubted, they did not leave, but grew in faith by coming in contact with the risen Jesus. And then again the call to action comes, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing … and teaching…” (Matthew 28:19) And as we know from Church history, these disciples did go to baptize and teach, and the Church, still following the Lord’s call, baptizes and teaches to this very day.
So each of these groups had to choose, when faced with the challenge of the empty tomb the challenge of the resurrection; and today we have the same challenge. We can, like the guards, deny the
presence of the risen Jesus and work for the
conspiracy of those who deny that God is present and operative in the world today; or we can face the
challenge with faith and with action. This is not to say that the choice is always easy. The women and the disciples certainly faced times of fear and times of trial, but the angel, and also our Lord, says to them and to us, “Do not be afraid.” But as we face the times of fear and trial in the world with faith in the risen presence of Jesus, we will hear ever strong the continued call of Jesus to “go and make disciples,” “to baptize and to teach.”
There are many ways in which this work can and is being done within the Church and the world today; from the ordained ministry of bishops, priests and deacons, to the calling of parents for their children and teachers for their students. But it is also
accomplished within the everyday lives of Polish
National Catholics; in our prayer life, in the help we give to neighbors and friends, in our joining together at Holy Mass to share in the body of Christ, the Church. Each and every day we can go about with our faith lived in a strong way, proclaiming when we are asked, “Why are you helping?” “Why are you working?” “Why are you here?” “Why?” Because Jesus lives.
Let each of say in the Easter Season, “Christ is risen, He is risen, indeed.” And let us say it not only with our lips, but with our lives and all that we are.