Scripture Reflection, Easter Sunday 2010

Scripture Readings:
Acts of the Apostles 10: 34, 37-43
Psalm 118
Colossians 3: 1-4
Luke 24: 1-12

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One of the most famous and riveting passages in modern literature was written by Elie Wiesel, the Nazi concentration camp survivor and winner of the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize. Wiesel’s book Night is a spellbinding chronicle of his experiences at Auschwitz and other camps after he and his family were deported, when he was just a teenager. One day all of the prisoners were forced to watch as two men and a young boy were hanged because they were suspected of plotting subversive activities. As they stood there in silent horror, Wiesel recalls that another prisoner behind him asked, “Where is God?” As they continued to watch this gruesome spectacle, he heard the same man ask again, “Where is God now?” Wiesel writes, “And I heard a voice within me answer him: ‘Where is He? Here He is – He is hanging here on this gallows….’”

In the book, Wiesel does not explain what he meant by that comment, and there have been many interpretations of it. In his later writings, he tried to clarify his meaning. But it appears that what Wiesel was saying was that in situations of severe suffering and darkness, the presence of God is discovered in and with the suffering person. God is indescribably close to those who are most vulnerable to suffering.

In the Gospel for Easter, we meet the women from Galilee as they come to Jesus’ tomb on their early morning pilgrimage of anointing. Luke tells us that these women were present at Calvary and had seen the place where he was buried. They must have been deeply shaken by Jesus’ violent death. The drama of Calvary -- with its angry crowds, shouts of condemnation, and the sounds of hammers driving nails into a crossbeam -- must have felt like the complete absence of God. It had been an entirely loveless place shrouded in darkness, where it seemed as if God had abandoned them.

But when they reach the tomb, these frightened, grief-stricken disciples are greeted with a message: “Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised. Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over the sinners and be crucified, and rise on the third day.” These faithful women discover that the stone has been rolled away and that Jesus is no longer prisoner of the grave. Overcome by such a message, they return to announce this good news to apostles who are certain that it is too good to be true.

The experience of the risen Christ gave these women and the other disciples a renewed understanding of God. Jesus’ resurrection showed them that God can be found in the suffering person, even in one undergoing a shameful and horrific death by crucifixion. Gerald O’Collins puts it like this: “But with the resurrection the disclosive power of the cross comes into play, and shows that the weak, the despised the suffering – those who become fools for God’s sake – can serve as special mediators of revelation and salvation.” Though it must have felt that God was absent at Calvary, Easter shows that God was in fact very present there, present in the person of the crucified Jesus and silently present to all of those who experienced the darkness of that moment. God was there – working from within – even when it felt that God was miles away.

The raising of Jesus from the dead is like the eruption of a volcano. At Easter, God’s silent presence to Jesus and in Jesus erupts from within to bring new life. Easter shows us that God’s vulnerable presence in suffering is indeed a powerful presence. Though God did not sweep in from heaven to take Jesus off the cross, God was quietly present and active to bring life out of wretched death. The message of Easter tells us that this is God’s signature act: bringing new life out of death.

There are moments in our lives in which it seems as if God is absent, perhaps even that God has abandoned us. We feel as if we are walking through “deathly places” and are enveloped in darkness. I recently had a long distance telephone call from someone who feels this way at this time in her life. She is so heavily burdened by worry and feelings of helplessness over a tragic family situation. It is very understandable that she is having a difficult time discovering the presence of God in the midst of this situation. She feels as if she is in a tunnel that has no light at the end. This must be the way the women in the gospel felt as they looked on at Calvary.

Our profession that “Jesus is Risen” invites us to reaffirm our faith in God’s presence even in those moments in our lives that seem “deathly.” We are challenged to renew our belief that the Lord is faithfully present to us, especially at times of suffering and darkness. And his presence is a quiet but powerful one; he is always on the move to bring new life. The risen Christ is the light at the end of the tunnel. This is the reason for our hope as Christians. That is why the Exsultet – the magnificent proclamation sung at the Easter Vigil – rings with words that are so exuberant: “This is a day of God’s own joy. Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor, radiant in the brightness of your king! Rejoice, O mother Church! Exult in glory! The Risen Savior shines upon you! Let this place resound with joy, echoing the mighty song of all God’s people!”

May you and yours have a blessed Easter, and may you be renewed in your trust in the faithful presence of the risen Christ.

Fr. Robin Ryan, cp