The story of the Resurrection begins for us with an empty tomb. Not the way I would have done things! I would have had a crowd of thousands, tens of thousands, waiting at the tomb. There would be fireworks ready to go off at the dramatic moment the stone, sealing the tomb, began to rattle and slowly roll away from the entrance.
I would have had musicians, especially trumpets and kettledrums, ready to play a triumphant fanfare as Jesus emerged, blinking in the morning sun. Too bad there weren’t cameras in those days, I certainly would have wanted to record the moment for the next generation of believers, as proof positive. I would also want a DVD made to give skeptics, especially those Pharisees and scribes–let’s not forget Herod and the soldiers who crucified Jesus. “There, you see, just as he said! There’s Jesus rising from the dead! I told you so!” Would our camera be able to photograph the angels the other Gospels say were there?
Something else: why did the architects of our Lectionary choose this reading for Easter Sunday morning? Today our churches are packed. People are with us who seldom come to church. There are lots of children too, in their crisp, new Easter clothes. Couldn’t we at least have had a more spectacular reading than this subdued account by John? Don’t we at least want to impress our visitors and occasional churchgoers with, what the Sunday television host Ed Sullivan used to call, “a really big show?” Today’s gospel doesn’t have even a brief appearance of the risen Christ!
Maybe Peter can help us today as we search, not just back then, but now, for the risen Christ. In today’s reading from Acts he gives us an overview of Jesus’ life. Peter situates Jesus in the line of prophetic witnesses. Then he briefly recounts Jesus’ life, beginning with his ministry in Galilee and God’s anointing him at his baptism with the Holy Spirit. What strikes me in Peter’s testimony and what helps me address the lack of spectacle in today’s gospel, is what Peter acknowledges: “This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.”
Peter suggests that those God has chosen can “see” Jesus and that these witnesses are called upon by God to “preach to the people and testify….” The good news of the Resurrection isn’t reserved to a few chosen and elite people in the world. Rather, the task of the first believers and our task as well, is to spread the word to the rest of the world what God has done in Jesus. God’s plan is that those who have witnessed the resurrection are to spread the news so that hearts and minds will be transformed. So, no video cameras or DVDs to capture the event–just living witnesses called by God to pass on how they have experienced the living Christ, to those who have not yet heard the Good News we celebrate today: “Christ is risen.”
“If I were only there at Jesus’ resurrection, I would be as enthusiastic witness to what I had seen”–so, some people say today. Well, John tells us the first thing Mary of Magdala, Peter and “the disciple whom Jesus loved” saw was an empty tomb! What happened at first, at least, for Mary and Peter, was misunderstanding and confusion. Mary arrived at the tomb “while it was still dark”–it was still dark in another way for both Mary and Peter. Mary concludes what any logical person would, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb and we don’t know where they have put him.”
We don’t know what conclusion Peter drew when he saw the empty tomb: it certainly wasn’t about Jesus’ rising from the dead. No one expected that, not even Peter and those closest to Christ; that would be too illogical. Thank heavens for the other disciple at the tomb, the “Beloved Disciple.” Even without seeing the risen Christ he looks into the empty tomb, sees the burial cloths and the neatly rolled up head cloth and, John tells us, “he saw and believed.”
The identity of the Beloved Disciple has long been a subject of debate and speculation. John tells us he (was it a she?) was there at the foot of the cross (19:35) with Jesus’ mother, Mary, the wife of Clopas and Mary of Magdala– the disciples had all fled. Irenaeus, a century later, identified this disciple as one of the 12–John? But Irenaeus wasn’t there. Some people said the unnamed disciple was Lazarus, others Thomas. We don’t know for sure.
But maybe John is using the Beloved Disciple as a symbol for the model of the perfect disciple. As a disciple he would have responded to Jesus’ invitation to follow him. This disciple wasn’t just a disciple during the good times with Jesus; he was at the foot of the cross and so, witnessed the suffering inflicted on Jesus. He would be under no illusions about what discipleship would entail for him. Still, he did not turn away, but stayed with the community and was there to hear Mary’s initial report about the empty tomb. This “model disciple,” who has seen it all, today is at the empty tomb. Now, gazing in to the tomb, he comes to full sight; he believes without physical evidence — just as we are called to do!
No, there is no spectacle for those first witnesses at the empty tomb to convince them indubitably that Jesus rose from the dead. But this, after all, is a very good Resurrection story for us today, because we are asked to believe the testimony of the first witnesses and their descendants without actually seeing, for we too stare into the empty tombs of our lives and are called upon to believe that new life is possible.
Two weeks ago we heard the story of Jesus’ bringing Lazarus back to life. The dead man came out of the tomb wrapped in burial cloths. Jesus gave the order, “Untie him and let him go.” But one day Lazarus would die again and again he would be wrapped in burial cloths.
When the Beloved Disciple looked into the empty tomb he saw the burial cloths Jesus left behind. Jesus, now resurrected, would never again be found in those wrappings. Because of his resurrection we too will be raised from the grave and leave the remains of death behind–symbolized by those burial cloths in today’s gospel.
The love the disciple experienced from Jesus prepared him to see the new life Jesus had entered into. For those of us who heard God’s Word and shared the Eucharist today we also know the love Jesus has for us–we are now the “beloved disciples.” We look into our dead places with resurrection faith and have hope that God can cause new life where we now see death and it’s remains?
We recall our own experiences of the resurrection, when we were looking into a tomb, a dead place in our lives and nevertheless, came to experience new life. That memory gives us hope. For example, with eyes and memory tinted by our faith in Jesus’ resurrection we remember:
–when we had almost given up on a friend addicted to drugs and then they came to their senses, got help and are alive again
–when we suffered the loss of a loved one and the world collapsed and then we came out of the tomb of grief and are alive again
–when we suffered financial crisis and we stood together as a family, made serious and necessary adjustments in our lifestyle and are alive again
–when we drifted away from our faith, but felt the emptiness over the loss of a community of supportive believers and important ritual, returned to our religious practices and are alive again
For the believer resurrection isn’t just a hope for a future, better time and place. We have looked into many tombs in our lives. The disciple whom Jesus loved has been our model. He knew the love Jesus had for him; a love which suffering and even death could not overcome. Without seeing Jesus, he still believed and today he is our encouragement, helping us look our current dyings in the face without fear.
At this Easter celebration we, the “beloved disciples,” open our eyes and ears of faith to the Risen Lord in our midst. He is with us as we gather in his name; he is here in the proclaimed Word; he is with us in the Eucharistic bread and wine. We remember the resurrection experiences we have had in our past, when we experienced new life coming after death. With those memories refreshed at this Eucharist we are filled with hope as we face present and future dyings.