One of the things the Evangelists did was to make the assumption that all of this was God's plan giving Jesus the words to predict his Resurrection. But the truth of the matter is that probably not even Jesus himself knew what was going on. If the Apostles HAD known, they'd'a taken him off to the Cross three years earlier saying, "Let's get this puppy moving!"
And if Jesus had known, he'd've made it clear to them. They'd've been outside the tomb on that first Easter morning in a festive mood waiting to hand him a Mocha instead of the Magdalene asking Jesus if he were the gardener.
And why the outpouring of grief? If he'd told them he'd be back, they'd'a just bided their time and "Voila! I'm back!" But grief and fear is where they were.
I always think of three people during Holy Week: The Blessed Mother, St. John and the Magdalene. There is no deeper or more profound grief than the death of a child no matter the age, and the firstborn makes it even worse. Our Lady's grief has been portrayed through the centuries, but its true depth will never be fathomed.
St. John was Jesus' best friend. And we know how deep friendship between straight guys can be. But they NEVER talk about it. And when death happens, all that pent up, never spoken emotion comes to the surface and the pain is incredible.
And Dan Brown wasn't the first to make the conjecture that Our Lord and the Magdalene may have been more than friends. Such conversations were happening in the First Century among devout Christians. However, no matter the relationship, the Magdalene loved Jesus more than any other human being. And her grief would've been devastating.
Given the outpouring of grief and the men in hiding, huddled in fear, no one was expecting the Resurrection. It wasn't a minute blip on anyone's radar screen. And I suspect it was the same for Jesus. Otherwise, the pain of the Cross would've been assuaged by the thoughts of, "Well, I'll be back on Sunday. No big deal." I suspect he woke up in the tomb that first Easter morning and said to himself, "WOW! This is what Dad was talking about. COOL!!" If Jesus' suffering was truly redemptive, then it would have to have been true suffering, not just some temporary state that would be over soon.
And on a human level, the Resurrection doesn't make sense. As humans, if someone had murdered our child, we'd be, "OK, EVERYBODY OUTA DA POOL!" and destruction of epic proportion would begin!
But instead of celestial devastation, God raises Jesus from the dead. Instead of wrath, God proves, once again, that the powers of love and compassion and mercy and justice and peace are infinitely and ultimately stronger than the human beings at their absolute worst and even death itself. And the Risen Christ emerges from the tomb alive and whole.
The Resurrection is the pivotal moment in human history. It's the moment when God acts as God has never acted before....or since...at least with such intensity. It is that moment when earth and heaven meet and humanity is reborn. And as magnificent as that moment it, it's not JUST about Jesus. Its also about us.
I know for a fact that every one of us in this Church this morning have found ourselves nailed to a cross at one time or another. We've all found ourselves betrayed or publicly humiliated, or the powers of death have overcome the people we love or us. We've all been at that moment when we were at the bottom of the barrel and there was no way out. There was no hope. The only thing was to wait...wait for death to overtake us either physically or metaphorically. Hope was dead and no one could bring us back. No one.
And then....
God steps in and removes the nails and gently takes us down from the cross and walks us through the tomb into the cool morning of the garden. And we are new. Like Jesus, we're not exactly who we were when we were nailed up, but we're still here, alive and becoming whole with the hope of becoming something new.
When we are at the end of our ropes, God steps in unexpectedly and the same power that raised Jesus from the dead raises us to new and abundant life.
That same power that raised Jesus from the dead is continually transforming our world and has been since the moment of Creation. Through out human history, when things are at their bleakest, God has stepped in unexpectedly and brought the world out into the brightness of day. And when the human race finds itself at the bottom of the barrel again, the process begins again. And one day in hopefully the not too distant future, in the twinkling of an eye, the world will be new and whole and alive.
This is the feast of the Lord's Resurrection, our annual celebration of God raising Christ from the powers of death and destruction. But it's also the feast of OUR resurrection. It's not a feast to look into the future to see ourselves resurrected after this life is over. That resurrection is a given. Rather, it's the feast to celebrate the very fact that during this life, when all hope is lost, God unexpectedly embraces us and brings us - in this life - to new joy and peace and transformation; that the same power which raised Jesus from the dead comes and raises us too. It's what St. Paul means when he talks about our sharing in Christ's Resurrection.
So, the next time you find yourself at the bottom of that barrel and you truly are convinced that there is no hope, know that you are not alone, that Christ himself, the Risen One, is there with you, embracing you and leading you out into the sunlight. The Risen Christ may communicate through other people or through a book you read or through a new and unbelievable thought that races through your mind. Or, as with the Apostles, the Risen Christ may just show up. But however he does it, rest assured that you will be raised....you WILL be raised....into the new and abundant life of Jesus Christ our Risen Lord.
Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
Christ is Risen indeed! ALLELUIA!
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