April 21, 2014
Monday in the Octave of Easter 1st Reading:
Acts 2:14, 22–23
Gospel: Mt 28:8–15
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, left the tomb at once in holy fear, yet with great joy, and they ran to tell the news to the disciples.
Suddenly, Jesus met them on the way and said, “Peace.” The women approached him, embraced his feet and worshiped him. But Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to set out for Galilee; there they will see me.”
While the women were on their way, the guards returned to the city and some of them reported to the chief priests all that had happened. The chief priests met with the Jewish authorities and decided to give the soldiers a good sum of money, with this instruction, “Say that his disciples came by night while you were asleep, and stole the body of Jesus. If Pilate comes to know of this, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” The soldiers accepted the money and did as they were told. This story has circulated among the Jews until this day.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
Their strategy was flawed from the start. First of all, it was impossible that all the guards assigned to secure the tomb of Jesus could have fallen asleep at the same time and none remained awake to notice the theft. Secondly, their admission that they were asleep demolished their credibility as witnesses, for a sleeping person is as good as dead for purposes of testifying what happened within the period of slumber. Thirdly, while guards succumb to sleepiness now and then, they usually take forty winks and remain sensitive to noise in the vicinity. How could they not have awakened to the sound of rolling of the big rock that covered the mouth of Jesus’ grave?
While nobody would subscribe to the ‘stolen-corpse theory’, there are people who argue that an empty tomb does not necessarily mean that someone buried there had arisen from the dead. This argument is meritorious, but only in the absence of other evidence supporting the resurrection. Moreover, our faith in the resurrection is not based on the circumstantial evidence of an empty tomb. Our basis is the faith experience of the people from the time of the Apostles down to our generation. The apostles who used to be hiding in fear were boldly proclaiming their faith in a risen Lord. Followers of Christ up to our generation continue to anchor their faith in the resurrection. Is it possible that a hoax can bind so many people for so many generations?
Thank God, Jesus really rose from the dead. Without the resurrection our faith will have no leg to stand on. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website: www.frdan.org.
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