REFLECTION FOR TODAY
April 4, 2021
By Fr. Andrew Ibegbulem, OSA
“When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed” Jn. 20:6-8
Happy Easter to you all!
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Easter, the very essence of our Christian believes and the central feast of Christians. We celebrate the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ has Risen from the dead. We celebrate not only the Jesus Resurrection from the dead but our Hope of Resurrection. If Christ had not Risen from the dead, then we still live-in sin, and death has power over us. If Christ had not risen from the dead, then our preaching and Christianity is empty.
Easter is not just the single day of Easter Sunday, but a season of seven weeks plus one more day. The Church celebrates Easter for fifty days so as to be able to ponder thoroughly the mysteries of this holiest season of the Church’s year. There are three mysteries of our Faith that the Church celebrates throughout the Easter Season
In our gospel reference today, we see Peter and the other disciple at the tomb. The Reality of the empty tomb and absence of the dead body of Jesus in the tomb gives meaning to our Christian belief. Because Jesus lives, we also shall live. Because Jesus is risen, our sins are forgiven, and pardon has been made available for all who repent.
The empty tomb speaks to us today of the reality that Jesus had risen from the dead. Death has no power over Jesus because He is God. Three days he laid in the tomb for a mission. A mission to liberate those who had fallen asleep before him. For three days the world was in silence and all hope seemed to be lost. But with the resurrection, our hope was restored, and our lights have been enkindled. Easter is a feast of positive change and transformation.
Reflect today on this wonder gift of liberation the resurrection of Jesus has brought for us. Ponder on the reality of the empty tomb and Easter being a feast of liberation from the domain of darkness to that of light, a liberation from every negativity in our lives to positivity in Jesus Christ. Appreciate this gift of Easter, by which we have been liberated from death, bitterness, sickness sin, and very vice.
My resurrected Lord, my hope is in You! Alleluia, You are alive and You have conquered all sin, all death, all evil. You bring forth new life to all who turn to You in their need. My Jesus, I do turn to You and abandon myself to You in Your death so that I may rise with You in Your Resurrection to new life. Breathe into me this gift of new life and allow me to begin anew. Jesus, I trust in You.