The Daily Word
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They Recognized Him
While walking on the road to Emmaus, Jesus encounters two disciples who do not recognize Him. They ask Jesus to stay with them for it was night. At dinner, Jesus takes bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them. They immediately recognize Jesus. Such is the power in the breaking of the bread, for it is not simply bread, but Jesus Himself.
Whom Do You Seek?
When Mary Magdalene finds an empty tomb she is distressed and upset. She weeps, wondering who could have stolen Jesus’s body for she did not yet understand that Jesus needed to rise from the dead. The Lord appears before her but she does not recognize Him in His resurrected state until He calls her name. Jesus asks her, “Whom are you looking for?”
He’s Not Here
The idea of “resurrection” was still only a concept in the minds of many at the time of Jesus. It was something some Jews believed in, but perhaps they were not quite sure what that might look like or how it would happen. We still really do not know today, but as St. John tells us “we shall be like him” (1 Jn. 3:2). For Christians the Resurrection is not a concept, but a reality.
“He said to them,
‘Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here.’”
Mark 16:6
The idea of “resurrection” was still only a concept in the minds of many at the time of Jesus. It was something some Jews believed in, but perhaps they were not quite sure what that might look like or how it would happen. We still really do not know today, but as St. John tells us “we shall be like him” (1 Jn. 3:2). For Christians the Resurrection is not a concept, but a reality.
Furthermore, St. Paul tells us that “For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection” (Rom. 6:5). And so, we have hope that we will share in Christ’s Resurrection, and what a joy it would be!
The women looked inside the tomb and saw that it was empty and the angel spoke with them. They are witnesses of Jesus’s Resurrection. Jesus has truly risen from the dead! The tomb could not contain Jesus. Jesus rose from the dead and dies no more. The Author of Life brings to us new life, life that never ends, life with God Himself. That is the joy of the Resurrection.
We know that sin and death have been defeated and that the final battle has already been won by Christ. This ought to give us hope, hope that even though sin still exists, it does not have the final say. Sin no longer weighs us down or chains us to the cave of darkness. Just as Jesus descended into hell, the Light of Christ dispels the darkness that blinds out hearts.
He has been raised; he is not here. Neither should we stay in the tomb, brothers and sisters. Let us leave the tombs that prevent us from seeing the light. Jesus is waiting to pull us out, just as He rescued the righteous from hell.
What are those tombs that we have allowed to hold us back from living in the light and hope of the Resurrection? Do we want Jesus to pull us out?
Let us pray:
Lord, Jesus Christ, You are the Resurrection and the Life! Remove the darkness from my eyes so that I might come to see the light of your glory.
Blessed Easter to you!
Above is the Easter Sunday reflection from “Return to Me.” To revisit all of the Holy Week Reflections from “Return to Me,” click here.
Click below to watch today’s reflection.