Tuesday in the Octave of Easter
I sometimes tend to think of Easter as a day or perhaps as a week long celebration (The Octave of Easter). Yet it is more than that. It is a season of the Church year, stretching from Easter Sunday until Pentacost Sunday. Yet, attending the Easter vigil mass this year brought to my attention the thought that each day of the year should involve a recognition and awareness of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. In fact, this is literally true, since each celebration of the mass is a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
The gospel reading for today tells of how Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early on the first Easter morning. We are told that she was seeking Jesus. Instead of finding Jesus’ dead body, she encountered Jesus himself. Mary apparently embraces Jesus when she recognizes him, for he tells her to let go of him (verse 17). This is symbolic of the fact that Jesus journey is not over. He is looking forward to his ascension to heaven in forty days. This is significant, since it is not just that Jesus has risen from the dead but also that his risen body will be alive eternally, never dying again.
It is instructive to think about this in relationship to the first reading, from Acts. The common theme is the need for those who would follow Jesus to recognize the reality of his resurrection from the dead. Peter urges those who have heard his message and were moved by it to examine their lives to accept baptism. Implied here is that they also accept the reality of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, which the disciples have been preaching. Notice that in these two readings it is Jesus’ disciples, such as Mary Magdalene and Peter, who bear witness to the reality of Jesus’ resurrection. And as professed followers of Jesus, we are expected to do the same—namely to bear witness to the resurrected Christ.
During the entire Easter season Christians say to one another in greeting, “Christ is Risen.” And the response to this is “He is risen indeed.” Why do we do this? Each time we say this we remind ourselves that Christ is risen from the dead. What is the point of reminding ourselves of this? Speaking and hearing these words reminds us of the new life that we have in Christ. Without his sacrifice we would be captive to sin and death. There would be no hope of overcoming the hardship, darkness, and brokenness that we so often face in the world. By contrast, Jesus Christ has given us the hope that there is a better way and that our lives can and should be different—that we can be free of despair, hopelessness, and the bad habits and ruts that we so easily fall into. Therefore, let us rejoice in this Easter season and accept the gift of the Spirit to meet the challenges that we face putting our faith into practice. And may God give us the grace to receive the new life that is offered to us in Jesus.
Joel Schickel