“He has risen indeed”

Reflection on Gospel of John 20: 1-9

There is an ancient myth that Jesus did not really die on the cross. The argument is that someone like him – a prophet, even the very Son of God – could not have died on the cross. The story continues that Jesus did carry his cross to Calvary alright. But at the very moment that he was to be crucified, he disappeared, vanished into thin air.

The Roman soldiers were confused. They had come all the way to Calvary to crucify someone. Now, all of a sudden, the man was nowhere to be found. What were they to do? Someone had to be crucified, anyone. So the soldiers got hold of poor Simon of Cyrene, and crucified him in place of Jesus.

That story is not as funny as it sounds; it is not funny because it is important to establish that Jesus really did die on that cross. For if Jesus did not die, then he could not have risen from the dead. If there was no death, there could not have been a resurrection. And resurrection is the bedrock of our faith as Christians. For, as St. Paul says, “… if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is without substance, and so is your faith" (1 Cor. 15: 14) That is why anybody who is a Christian must believe in the resurrection. And if we believe in the resurrection, we must also believe that Jesus really did die on that cross. He did not run away from it or disappear to anywhere.

The resurrection of Jesus was his own personal victory over death. In the words of St. Paul again, "We know that Christ has been raised from the dead and will never die again. Death has no power over him any more" (Rom. 6:9). On Good Friday, it seemed tI1at death had vanquished Jesus. But on Easter Sunday, Jesus had the last laugh; and what a good one it was! The victory of Jesus over death was also our Victory. Because Jesus died and rose from the dead, we are assured that we too shall rise again after our own death. His resurrection is thus the pledge of our own resurrection from the dead (1 Cor. 15:20¬22). As we say in one of our Consecration Acclamations, "Dying, you destroyed our death, rising, you restored our life, Lord Jesus( come in glory."

The resurrection of Jesus also represents the ultimate victory of good over evil. No matter how long it takes, good will always triumph over evil. The enemies of Jesus did a grave evil by putting an innocent person to death. At that time, it seemed that evil had silenced good forever. The resurrection of Jesus proved them wrong. Good came charging from the grave with Jesus, and evil to an ignominious flight.

Those who are on the side of good in the Society can take heart from these facts. Their struggle is not in vain; their efforts will not go forever unrewarded. Their success, their victory may be delayed, but it will not be frustrated forever. By the same token, the agents of evil in our Society should be warned that they will not always win. Their apparent victory now will end in defeat sooner or later.

This is a drama that has been played out again and again down through the ages. History is littered with the carcasses of tyrants and despots who wreaked untold havoc on their fellow human beings. For a time they seemed to be getting away with their crimes. It seemed that nobody could stop them. Along the way, they amassed fabulous wealth for themselves and their cronies. But when good staked its supremacy over evil, they just fell like a pack of cards. Examples abound, even from just the last century: Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Mao, Idi Amin, Bokassa, Mobutu, Samuel Dow, Abacha, Milosevic, Saddam Hussein. History has always repeated itself. It always will.