Everything about the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ was amazing. The Gospel of Luke tells us that “Peter got up and ran to the tomb, bent down, and saw the burial cloths alone; then he went home amazed at what had happened.” (Luke 24:12). The gospel on Easter Sunday tells us that Mary Magdalene “ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” (John 20:2) Imagine what your reaction would be to the news that the tomb of someone whose funeral you just attended was found open with the body no longer there!
After having witnessed his arrest, scourging, crucifixion, death and burial, the joy of his being alive again must have been incredible. In the daily readings this week we will begin to discover more and more about the resurrected Jesus and what the disciples experienced in the Resurrection. Jesus simply appears to the apostles behind locked doors and says, “Peace be with you.” To the men on the road to Emmaus he explains all that happened to him leading up to his death on the cross. Then they recognize him in the breaking of the bread, whereupon he vanishes from their sight. To Peter he said, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” The resurrected body of Jesus was glorious and had remarkable qualities that had never been seen before.
Most of us have seen spectacular things from time to time in our lives, but none of us can imagine the glory that will be ours in the resurrection. Jesus revealed even more about the Lord our God in his Resurrection. In the Resurrection of the just, we too will have a share in His glory. Unlike ever before, we will be made glorious ourselves in the resurrection of the just. Unlike the passing glory of this world, we will know what true glory is: the blessed vision of God himself!
Consider the earthly glory upon which some have set their sights. There are those who pursue youthfulness – trying to compensate for the aging process. Anti-aging creams, Botox, plastic surgery, tummy tucks, hair implants and weight loss products all promise to capture and maintain a youthful appearance. And then there is the glory of wearing the latest fashion and having jewelry and accessories that turn heads and bring rave reviews and flattering comments. The glory of being noticed and esteemed is enticing, yet this too, is a passing glory. Likewise, the glory of being recognized for some achievement, notoriety for some accomplishment or some great contribution to the common good earns us great accolades and a particular place in history, yet this, too, is a glory that pales in comparison to what we shall experience on the day of Resurrection.
One of my favorite verses in Sacred Scripture comes from St. Paul’s First letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 2: 9), when St. Paul says, “But as it is written: ‘What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him…’” St. Paul says this is what awaits the Lord’s faithful in the Resurrection. Thus, if we have never seen or heard or even imagined the glory that will be ours in the life to come, isn’t it worth pursuing with every fiber of our being? What could be more important than pursuing unimaginable glory that is ETERNAL?
This should be the cause of our joy at Easter – the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ over the grave, over our sins and over the fires of hell that he won for us after 3 days in the tomb. The glory of the Resurrection is so much greater than the empty tomb, the glorified body of Jesus and the extraordinary properties he now possesses. The glory of Easter is the HOPE that is ours in Christ who has been raised up, a hope for so much more than all that this world has to offer. The glory of Easter is the tremendous gift of eternal life that awaits all who live in faith and strive to please the Lord each and every day.
Today is the day after Easter, and many have moved on from the celebration. The Church, however, celebrates Easter as an Octave – that is, as one continuous celebration for 8 days – through next Sunday. The Octave of Easter is a prolonged celebration of this unparalleled event in history – the gift of our salvation in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. If the Lord’s victory over sin and death is the greatest gift we have received, then we ought to celebrate it like no other event in our lives. We ought not let the challenges of life, ongoing hardships and difficulties, and the uncertainty of what lies ahead darken our outlook – for ultimately what lies ahead is a GLORY that we cannot imagine.
The next time you have some experience of earthly glory, recall that there will be a glory yet to come that will have no end, a surpassing glory to all that we might experience this side of the grave. Let us center our lives on this true glory and bear witness to our hope in the Resurrection, and in the life of the world to come!
