Based on a chapter called the Final Judgement in Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini’ s book “Piccolo Manuale della Speranza – Vivere con Fiducia il Nostro Tempo” [A Small manual of Hope – Living our lives in Trust]. Giunti Editore S.p.A. Milano, 2012.
All biblical quotations are from ‘The Jerusalem Bible’, Darton, Longman & Todd, London, 1966.
We will be reflecting on some of the last words found in the gospel of Mark that describe Jesus’ resurrection.
Mark describes how Jesus, after his death was buried in a tomb dug in the rock. After the sabbath, some women went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body with spices. When they arrived at dawn, to their great astonishment, they found the massive stone that covered the tomb’s entrance rolled aside. They entered the tomb and saw a young man dressed all in white sitting on the right side, who told them “There is no need for alarm. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified: he has risen, he is not here. See, here is the place where they laid him. But you must go and tell his disciples and Peter. ‘He is going before you to Galilee; it is there that you will see him as he told you.’” (Mk 16, 6-7) *.
We ask: what do these angels’ words mean to us today? What do they say to us about the Easter good news, now?
First of all, we are told: “There is no need for alarm.” Do not be afraid. An expression that we have tried to explain starting from the concept that the Gospel is the good news. That which Jesus brings to us with his life, death, and resurrection, is a joyous announcement from God, an announcement that invites us to overcome our fears and our anxieties. It does not remove the immediate cause of these fears, but it allows us to overcome them with tremendous joy.
The reason behind this joy is given in the words that follow: “You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified: he has risen, he is not here.”
The death of Jesus, the apparent abandonment of the just one, the defeat of truth was a mere episode. The final situation is one of victory, the triumph of truth. There is no future for injustice and untruths. Only justice, truth and love can look forward without fear of being disappointed.
Each one of us is called to this life from now and forever if we allow ourselves to be invaded by justice, love and truth that are in Jesus Christ. The disciples are invited to look for Jesus in Galilee, in the land where Jesus had manifested himself, where he had shown his ample goodness, his willingness to heal all. The apostles find again the living presence of that good Lord that they knew in the day-to-day life; it is in the daily routine that the Risen Christ will build his community, like a shepherd gathers his dispersed flock, and he will manifest himself in the community.
This community continues even today: it is the group of those who believe in Jesus, and he mysteriously but truly continues to manifest himself in the preaching of the gospel, in the eucharist, in the sacrament of reconciliation, in the words that are said in his name by the apostles’ successors. The words “it is there that you will see him” refer also to us who are called to identify the Risen Christ in our daily life.
When is Jesus present in our lives? Every time that we are in consonance with the experience described by the Gospel.
Hence, Jesus lives in his apostles, in the primitive church, in all those that participate in the faith of the apostles, those that are united with the apostles’ successors to make up the body of Jesus; He lives in the life of the church, in its evident and hidden sanctity, in its sacraments; he lives in the brothers that forgive each other their defects; he lives in the marvellous acts of kindness, often hidden, that are done in the world and that constitute the true raw material of salvation.
The gospel words that are announced at Easter ask us to open our eyes, to let ourselves be inspired by faith, to convert to the generosity of God towards us, to become aware of the many signs of God’s love and goodness in our lives and around us.
Our vision of the world can be different. The negatives in life will not be destroyed nor can they be forgotten; however, we are able to face them courageously and not with forbearance or with desperation. The risen Jesus allows us to face evil, injustice, suffering and death with the confidence that the power of God has been given to us, that the mystery of the Kingdom has been revealed to us. No apparent desertion can weaken our faith and our hope.
Jesus lives and still comes in our midst; this is the great and splendid fact proclaimed by the Gospel. Jesus’ coming is not only past event, but a mysterious truth of the present. Each one of us is invited to experience it, to understand that the final word, even at the point of death, is life and resurrection.
So, man’s final word when faced with this manifestation of God, cannot be simple acceptance, trust, or faith; it has to become praise. That is why many psalms sing in praise and gratitude.
Extracts from psalm 135 [134]**:
Praise the name of Yahweh,
praise Yahweh, you who serve him,
serving in the house of Yahweh,
in the courts of the house of our God!
Praise Yahweh, for Yahweh is good.
Play for his name, for he inspires love:
In the heavens, on the earth,
in the ocean, in the depths,
Yahweh’s will is sovereign.
Yahweh, your name endures for ever!
Yahweh, your memory is always fresh!
since Yahweh vindicates his people,
And cares for those who serve him.
** There are 150 psalms, numbered from 1 to 150. Regrettably, the Jewish and Christians numbering systems differ from psalm 9 onwards. This is because some psalms are merged in one system and not in the other. That is why you will see 2 numbers for each quoted psalm with a number higher than 9.