Wipe Away Your Tears, Jesus Has Risen from the Dead

Homily for Easter Sunday

Most of the Gospels are filled with eyewitness accounts of the many miracles that Jesus performs as he walks from Galilee to Jerusalem. However, when it comes to the central tenet of our Christian faith, there are no eyewitness accounts available. All we can say with any certainty is that the tomb where Jesus lay was found empty by the women who had come to anoint his body. In other words, we must accept the Resurrection of Jesus purely on faith.

As a matter of fact, all four of the Gospels give us a confusing account of the event. Matthew tells us that two women came to the tomb while Luke tells us that there were three. Mark’s Gospel just says, “some women” came to the tomb, and John’s Gospel records that only Mary Magdalene came to the tomb. St. Matthew tells us that the women came at dawn while St. John records that it was still dark. The women in St. Matthew’s and St. Mark’s Gospel encounter an angel who speaks to them. Saint Luke tells us that there were two angels. St. John mentions no such appearance and simply tells us that Mary ran back to tell the apostles that someone had stolen the body of Jesus.

Four different accounts and none of them agrees with the others. If this evidence were provided in a court of law, no conclusions could be reached. Actually, because only women came to the empty tomb, no evidence could even be presented in a court of law because at that time, women were not allowed to give such testimony. In fact, Scripture scholars agree that the reason that the Gospels only mentioned the women is simply to impress upon us that this event can only be explained by faith. No one saw what happened. No one can answer any questions regarding the circumstances. All that we know is that women came to the tomb to perform the customary burial rites only to find that the tomb was empty.

At first, this seems to be a rather strange way to record the event which will define Christian faith. Yes, there are stories that follow upon these empty tomb stories that speak of Jesus appearing to various disciples. However, these appearances are always followed by disappearances. Only people with the eyes of faith can come to the conclusion that Jesus rose from the dead, just as he had told us he would.

When Mary of Magdala arrives at the tomb on the morning of the first day of the week, she intentionally comes to encounter a corpse and follow a ritual. But she unintentionally finds herself entangled in an intense web of shock and emotions. What Mary walked into that morning was chaotic. Neither she nor any of the apostles know that it is Easter morning.

The reading as we have it forces us to sit, like Mary, with the uncertainty that can be generated whenever any of the promises of our faith remain seemingly unfulfilled.

We have been taught that Jesus’ triumph over sin and death means that we are not condemned to be defined or ultimately defeated by our personal failings. God’s infinite mercy is always available to those who sincerely seek it.

We have also been taught that the inevitable losses we experience in life are not the end of life with God. But knowing these theological truths does not always equate with taking them to heart, with placing our faith in them.

We should learn from Mary’s example. In the face of her own confusion and fear, she nevertheless returned to the tomb and remained there — without clear answers or a resolution of her trauma. Because she stayed and honestly voiced her distress, she was prepared to receive Jesus when he finally appeared to her.

Our human minds crave certainty. However, today is not a day for certainty. It is a day for faith. Mary Magdalene’s faith drove her to deliver the news to the apostles. However, then she returned to the tomb and waited, waited for Jesus to come to her and wipe her tears away. This is our fate as well. We mourn when a loved one dies and grieve their loss, but we believe that one day Jesus will wipe away our tears as well.