Easter Day 2022

“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.”

Early on the first day of the week while it was still dark. Easter begins in the night. The sun has not risen yet, and Mary Magdalene has come to the tomb. Jesus has risen in the dark, and Mary Magdalene and the disciples are now discovering that something is amiss, but the sun has not risen yet.

At the Easter Vigil last night, I mentioned that we celebrate the Easter Vigil and the First Mass of Easter while it is still dark, because to be the most authentic, we try to celebrate the rites of the church at the times the events happened. At some point since nightfall last night, Jesus rose from the tomb. Easter begins in the night; easter begins in the darkness.

And this story takes place in a tomb in a garden. When Mary first meets Jesus, she mistakes him for the gardener. This garden must be fairly developed to have a gardener. In any case, the symbolism in Saint John’s Gospel is super rich, and now we find that the resurrection of Jesus has taken place in a garden. Gardens are places of new life, growth, and beauty. We plant gardens in our own yards so that we might enjoy God’s creation. They are places of tranquility and peace.

Placed in a garden, we see how the dying and resurrection of Jesus is the principal story of creation in the scriptures. It is in this garden that the course of humanity is forever changed. Whereas sin began in the Garden of Eden, now in this garden, Jesus has come to vanquish sin, harrow hell, and bring new life to Adam and Eve, as well as to us.

I am also reminded how when I have planted seeds in the ground, they often sprout overnight. No life is present, and one goes to bed, and the next day when one awakes, life has sprouted from the earth. As well, Jesus rises over the night in a garden. Easter begins in the night.

But if Easter begins in the night, our sharing of the story begins at sunrise. Dazed in the morning, like Mary Magdalene we are confused as to how our Lord could be alive. Over the course of the day, as the sun continues to rise and fill all things, we grow in understanding, and we are sent forth by Jesus himself to share the good news about his rising. It is during Easter Day that all of us are charged to tell others that Jesus has risen from the dead. We become missionaries for the Gospel.

I was struck a few weeks ago by something I saw. Did you know that you can buy an Easter Advent calendar? Yes, you can by an Advent calendar for Easter. For the Christian this is the strangest idea ever. Advent leads into Christmas, but secular society has decided to try and have an Advent calendar before Easter. Of course, this Advent Easter calendar is all about receiving a chocolate bunny on Easter Day. In hindsight I wondered if in this Advent Easter calendar, when you open the door on Maundy Thursday you get some fine port wine, and on Good Friday, you get a thorn, or a whip, or nail, or heaven forbid, some decaying flesh!

I made a hard pass on the Advent Easter calendar, but I did notice that the pandemic did something helpful. I have not noticed the secular craze about Easter this year as I remember seeing it grow prior to the pandemic. There have not been a lot of secular Easter egg hunts in the community. I remember how some places would have their egg hunts a couple of weeks before Easter in the past. It is a lot harder to secularize Jesus dying and rising than it is to secularize his birth.

Society gets the message of Easter all wrong a lot of the time, and I am noticing more and more that society does not get the message of Easter at all. Many of our preschool children have never heard of Jesus when they come to our Wednesday preschool worship for the first time. “Who’s Jesus?” they always say. It is a name they have never heard before, and chances are their parents know very little about our faith.

Hearing today’s Gospel story presents us with a great opportunity we have as followers of Jesus to share the good news of Easter. Like Mary Magdalene, our encounter with the Risen Christ empowers us to go forth and tell others about God’s love. Like Mary Magdalene, we all have stories about how we have been forgiven abundantly by our Lord Jesus. Like Mary Magdalene, we have a God who calls us each by name and loves us. Like Mary Magdalene, we have a God who brings peace into a world that is torn apart by wars, violence, and hatred. Like Mary Magdalene, we have a Lord who has the power to heal us and make us whole.

Easter begins in the night, but our sharing of the good news begins during the day. Christ has set the stage for us. Christ has risen from the tomb, and the light of Christ is filling the entire creation. In concert with that rising light, we are told to go forth and share the good news of the Risen Christ. Our world has become a garden of the resurrection. The seed has been planted in the night, and now that day has broken, God calls us to share in his resurrection growth.

A happy Easter to you and your loved ones.

Father Paul Lillie+