“The stone was rolled away from the door, not to permit Christ to come out, but to enable the disciples to go in."

And he departed from our sight that we might return to our heart, and there find Him. For He departed, and behold, He is here. - St. Augustine

(Gospel Text: Mt 28:8-15)

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb,
fearful yet overjoyed,
and ran to announce the news to his disciples.
And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.
They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.
Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid.
Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, 
and there they will see me.”

While they were going, some of the guard went into the city
and told the chief priests all that had happened.
The chief priests assembled with the elders and took counsel;
then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,
telling them, “You are to say,
‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.’
And if this gets to the ears of the governor,
we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”
The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed.
And this story has circulated among the Jews to the present day.

The bigger picture of the Easter story is that we have not been abandoned to hopelessness, ever. 

Tell that to the poor.  Tell that to the beaten and abused, the tortured and the unjustly imprisoned.  Tell that to the terminally ill, and tell that to the lonely.  Tell that to the hungry and the homeless who wander the scourged lands of the earth.  Tell that to the people of this earth who feel in very real ways that they have been abandoned to hopelessness. 

In today’s gospel, notice when Jesus asks the women to tell the disciples to meet Him in Galilee. Do you find it interesting that Jesus doesn’t tell them to explain the situation?  When we encounter the poor or for that matter our friends, co-workers, and family; it is our joy that will speak for us. It is our peace that will preach. It is the love we put into our actions that will proclaim the Resurrected Christ. That is the “dynamite” of the Church as Father Robert Baron would say in his latest DVD series on Catholicism. Keep this in mind, we as Catholics will never “argue” anyone into the Church. We will however make people take a good hard look at themselves and the lives they are currently living if our lives radiate that “dynamite.”

Unfortunately, left to our own devises, we can never give the example I just elaborated upon without the help of God’s grace. Face it, “our feet are made of clay”, we are all flawed and have selfish tendencies. That is why we need to live a Sacramental life (Eucharist & Reconciliation) and maintain a daily prayer life (Rosary & Scripture reading). If we do that the Holy Spirit will do the rest through us.  Jesus is the only one that can truly convict the hearts of sinners. Take it from me, a prodigal son welcomed back home with no questions asked.

Happy Easter!