April 10, 2009
Sunday Scripture
Easter Sunday: Resurrection of the Lord
BY FATHER DONALD DILGER
Mary Magdalene alone is the first of the disciples to discover the empty tomb of Jesus in the Gospel of John. In the other gospels she is accompanied by women-disciples of Jesus. No disciple saw the resurrection. They saw the empty tomb. They experienced the messenger(s) at the tomb. Depending on the gospel we read, those messengers were: a young man in white (Mark); an angel (Matthew); two men in white (Luke); two angels (John). Such details alert us to the fact that the story of the empty tomb had an abundance of versions in Christian tradition. Each version has its own theology, but the inspiration of all of them is that the tomb of Jesus was actually empty on the morning of the first day of the week — two days after Jesus’ death and burial. It was only after the resurrection, not during it, that disciples again saw Jesus alive.
Mary Magdalene will not see the two angels at the tomb in today’s gospel. That will happen later. Finding the stone which closed the entrance rolled back, she ran to Simon Peter “and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved,” and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have placed him.” The “we” indicates that the author of this gospel is aware of the tradition that Mary was not the only woman who came to the tomb on that morning. As to “the other disciple whom Jesus loved,” the majority opinion has been that this is the disciple John, son of Zebedee, brother of James. An opinion with weighty evidence behind it points to Lazarus as this disciple. We have no way of indisputably identifying this disciple. Da Vinci’s Last Supper painting does not help to identify “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Leonardo was not there. Nor is his presentation of the Last Supper necessarily true to history. It looks too much like a photo-op.
Simon Peter and the unknown disciple ran toward the tomb. Everyone seems to run on this day. The other disciple ran faster and got there first. He crouched down and looked into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there but remained outside. When Simon Peter arrived, the other disciple followed him into the tomb. Simon Peter also noticed the linen cloths in which Jesus’ body had been wrapped. They saw the cloth that had covered the head of Jesus’ body. It was neatly rolled up and placed by itself. There are some points to be made from this narrative. First, the respect of the other disciple for Simon Peter. He waited for Simon and entered the tomb only behind Simon. Secondly, when Lazarus was raised from the dead in John 11, he came from the tomb still wrapped and bound in burial cloths. He was to die again. When Jesus rose from the dead, the burial cloths are left behind. He will die no more.
Although the author of the gospel does not say so, it seems that Peter remained clueless at this time as to what had taken place. Not so the disciple whom Jesus loved. “He saw and believed.” Why is this disciple rather than Simon Peter depicted as a man of faith? This “other disciple” never abandoned Jesus. Love, writes St. Paul, “bears all things, believes all things, hopes al things, endures all things.” While this disciple’s love had continued, Simon Peter’s love had waned with his public denial of Jesus. Simon Peter’s separation from Jesus would not last. In the next chapter Jesus will restore him to his pre-eminent position by accepting Peter’s triple profession of love, “Lord, you know that I love you.” And Jesus replies, “Feed my sheep!”
The setting of this reading is after Pentecost. Through a triple vision Simon Peter was convinced to step across the age old boundary separating faithful Jew from Gentile. Contrary to custom, he is in the home of a Roman officer, a pagan, a Gentile. Peter gives a quick R.C.I.A. a summary homily beginning as the gospels do, with the baptism of John, then Jesus’ ministry, his death and his resurrection. Peter gives his own credentials as a witness who ate and drank with Jesus “after he rose from the dead.” He notes how the Scriptures support all that happened to Jesus. The Holy Spirit “fell on all who heard the word.” Sanctified without baptism! Interesting how God is not bound by our rules or even by John 3:5. Nevertheless, Peter orders them to be baptized. Thus John 3:5, “unless you are born of water and the Spirit, etc.” is saved, or should we say “the Spirit and water?”
In the context of this reading Paul deals with gross immorality at Corinth. He warns them that just a little bit of yeast spreads through the whole mass of bread dough. They must clear out the old yeast and mix a fresh batch of dough for unleavened bread. Why is Paul concerned about baking? He uses symbols. The unleavened bread is a symbol of a new life without sin. Why should the Corinthians (and we) give up sin? Because “our Passover Lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed, so let’s celebrate with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”