On the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” Luke 24:1-5

Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her. John 20:18

“Evidence that Demands a Verdict” If I am not mistaken, this was the name of the book. I bought it as a young man, at an age when my faith was revitalized or born again as some might say. I was keen to know that there were concrete facts to prove that Jesus rose from the dead. I never surpassed the first two chapters. I made several attempts at reading this book over the years. It never conquered my interest. I came to a verdict about the book but it was far from what the author expected.

As I matured in my faith, I realized that there is nothing duller than inventing logical arguments to prove the Resurrection. I have never met anyone who said, “Now I believe after hearing your convincing words.” No mere mortal words can express the eternal event of the Resurrection. No elegant persuasive arguments can do justice to such a remarkable occurrence except perhaps the powerful words of Mary Magdalene. They were plain and simple but they never fail to bring hope and joy to our souls. “I have seen the Lord.”

Of course, the disciples did not believe her immediately. They are right to do so. No one should believe such a marvelous truth just because of someone’s words. They had to see the Lord for themselves. Nevertheless, Mary’s words brought comfort to their souls, giving them hope that they too could share the same encounter. Thanks be to God, they are joy and comfort for our souls as well; we too can see the Lord in a real sense just like them. Of course, this complicates things. The word, real, I mean. Well, faith helps us to see reality, albeit many charlatans have misused and abused faith. Regardless of this, we need faith to open our hearts to see reality.

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt in your philosophy.” William Shakespeare, Hamlet

We have a very dear friend who once told us at our dinner table that she no longer believed in God. She was an evangelical Christian before. She worked in an institute dealing with trauma victims. Daily she dealt with many heart wrenching circumstances causing her to doubt the God of her upbringing. Furthermore, she found it hard to fathom an order in all this chaos. It is quite understandable. Nonetheless, recently we had lunch with the same friend in her home and she expressed a change of heart. She continues to work in the same field but among the people living in extreme poverty. She deals with the same problems as before but their social status adds another dimension to the pain and sufferings. This time she noticed that no matter what happens faith remains in the hearts of the people. She is also of Afro-Brazilian descent and has been reading about her ancestors suffering the horrors of slavery in the Americas and yet even in these narratives, the faith element was strong. Furthermore, there were many things happening around her making her doubt her own skepticism. She realizes that perhaps there is something real beyond what her previous philosophy informed her. Her eyes and ears are opened. She is looking for the Resurrected Christ but perhaps not in the traditional way. Maybe she doesn’t even know it. It is not important. She is on the right road and eventually she will see the Resurrected Lord walking by her side. This is our hope and the meaning of this blessed morning. He is alive and not distant from our reality.

Mary Magdalene’s announcement to the disciples opened a new possibility. In the face of dire hopelessness and abandonment, there is now the hope of abundant Life. However, we cannot believe until we encounter the Risen Christ. He is the source of our faith, not the empty tomb. We need to avail ourselves to meet Him. He has not changed His modus operandi. He is doing what He did in the gospels but now He is not restricted by time nor space. He has extended his scope. Now, He is in the world. He has resurrected so that He can be in the world forever among those who struggle and suffer for Life… His presence is everywhere. He invites us to meet Him in a real way. Well, sometimes we might walk past Him. Sometimes we might be too busy checking our phones and listening to our music that we miss an opportunity to meet Him. Sometimes we walk past the Lord and even ignore Him. He could be the one walking next to us. I believe it happened once to some of the disciples if memory doesn’t fail me. The Resurrected Christ manifests Himself in the lives of people more oft than not in the least likely person. The first person is to see Him was Mary Magdalene: a woman! Of all the women, not the best choice according to Jesus’ time. There were eleven apostles that Jesus could have appeared to at first but only the women went to the tomb. They availed themselves to be in a place where they could meet the Resurrected Christ.

Several years ago, well, I think maybe about 8 years ago to be precise, we had an encounter with a young woman for a very brief moment in our home. It was so brief that I can not recall her name. However, I do not believe that I will forget her. She was an acquaintance of a friend. She is a timid and petite young woman, a perfect candidate to be ignored in this city which has no time for anyone who does not assert their presence. Her young life was one filled with pain and suffering. She shared a household with a predatory relative. For years, she was abandoned and suffered in silence. She had no religious upbringing and knew very little about the Bible. Nevertheless, there was one in her room. She picked it up when she was taunted by suicidal thoughts and started with the gospels. Suddenly, the person of Jesus became real to her. She drew strength and comfort from Him and sensed a new zest for Life. Her situation did not change immediately. She suffered for a long painful period but her life was transformed. The light of Christ came into her heart in the darkest moment of her life. Her story did not bring her to a church. Instead it made her sensitive to the real presence of the Lord. She continues to heal from her wounds. In the meantime she never fails to give testimony that He has visited her.

Thankfully Mary Magdalene’s testimony alerted the disciples to look for the Lord among the living. Immediately, they went out into the world looking for Him. Easter invites us to do the same. If we avail ourselves to listen and look for Him, He will manifest Himself. It will not be in a form of a doctrine nor an argument. These are the dullest means to know about the Resurrection. Jesus resurrected to give us Life. We cannot say that we believe in the Resurrection until we can say with conviction, “I have seen the Lord.”

Have a Blessed Easter. Enjoy your meals and time with your loved ones. We will do the same but on Monday, we are going to the streets to look for the Risen Christ. I am sure that He is present wherever you may be. He will show Himself to you. All we need to do is to make ourselves available to meet Him. Each of us have to discover for ourselves what this means. No matter what happens, we know that we have a reason to be joyful in this world.

He is risen! Alleluia!