The resurrection of Jesus came out of nowhere. Jesus had told his disciples many times that he would rise from the dead. The disciples heard but never believed, each time he spoke of the Resurrection they would go into denial. So when it did indeed happen, they were so surprised that they went into shock.
When the two Mary’s arrived at the tomb at the crack of dawn on Easter morn, they were looking for a corpse. Instead they met an angel. The angel spoke to them and said “I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. He has been raised. Go and tell his disciples. Tell them that he will go ahead of them and they will see him in Galilee.” And that’s exactly what they did. They were the first witnesses of the Resurrection.
The message of Easter has not changed. We must however connect the Resurrection to our everyday lives and connect our everyday lives to the Resurrection. Today the angel in the gospel speaks the same message he spoke to the two Marys. The angel points to the empty tomb and the Cross and says “Ginny, tell my disciples, tell your readers, I am alive. I will go before them and they will see me in the streets, wherever they go or wherever they are, I will be with them. They can count on me. They can trust me.”
Christians are people of the Resurrection. We are an Easter people. We are a people of hope. And because we believe Christ is with us on every step of the road of life, we are also incurable optimists.
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