By Lum Zawng Dominic

Reflection on Luke 24: 1-12

“He is not here, but he has been raised.”

This is a time of great rejoicing as we proclaim the glorious truth: Our Lord Jesus Christ is risen from the dead! He conquered death, and this is the Good News for us all…Jesus is alive. Though He did go through immense suffering  as a human being, today, Jesus has risen from death. This is the core of our Christian faith, the ultimate truth we hold dear, and the very reason for our celebration.

Perhaps it is also a fitting time in the spirit of reflection to ask ourselves: why is this good news for us? Before simply saying, “Of course our Good News is Jesus has risen”, we can take a pause to reflect on Jesus’ journey and the experiences of his disciples so that we may truly appreciate the significance of this celebration. (Jesus’ Resurrection)

The Risen Jesus is the same Jesus who was crucified and buried on Good Friday. He bore the weight of all evil and suffering. What could be more tragic for Jesus than being rejected by His own people, betrayed by his friend and handed over to the Romans? He was  mocked, scourged, crucified and buried. What could be more painful than all that Jesus endured  in His earthly life? Even imagining it  for a moment fills us with sorrow. And yet, this was His real experience – one  He willingly endured for our sake.

The disciples had left everything to follow Jesus, believing Him to be the Messiah and their greatest hope. However on Good Friday, their world turned upside down. Their world was shattered, their hopes were crushed, and despair overtook them as they witnessed their master, friend, beloved, and Messiah being arrested, dragged away, beaten, and crucified on the cross. The sight of His weakness and helplessness could have broken their hearts so greatly. It seems nothing had gone as they hoped and imagined.

They could not do anything but watch Jesus die right before  their eyes on the cross. They took His lifeless body down  and buried him with their own hands. It must have felt like  a nightmare. The disciples were overwhelmed with despair, sorrow, and anguish because their hope vanished overnight. Gripped by fear and hopelessness, they locked themselves in a room. We, too,  know what it’s like to be lose hope, feel broken, and to be afraid  of what life may bring.

The Gospel tells us that in the morning, the women –  Jesus’s disciples – went to the tomb, bringing spices to anoint His dead body. Upon arrival at the tomb, they found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty and the most shocking thing was the body of Jesus was gone. This could have felt like yet another devastating  tragedy as they were still mourning His death. Nothing had gone according to their expectations or plans. Their world seemed to be falling apart. It was all bad news – until they saw the two men who said to them, “He is not here, but he has been raised.” This was the turning point –  the Good News that broke through all heartbreak, sorrow, sadness, and hopelessness. And it is the same Good News that comes to us today.

The Gospel deeply resonates with me, as it marks the end of mourning over  Jesus’ death and brings about the Good News, especially as it teaches me about the darkness in our own lives. I believe that if Jesus had not risen, the disciples would have remained in despair, fear, and doubt. But the experience of the empty tomb became a new beginning for them.

In many ways, the disciples’ experience mirrors our own daily struggles and realities. Each of us has gone through  challenging times – some of us may be in such a moment right now. We experience pain, loss, and uncertainty. We worry  about our own future, about our loved ones, about the education of our children or the stability of work. We feel  hopeless because of the unending conflicts in our own countries and around the globe. We are anxious because we don’t know what tomorrow holds, or even how we’ll get through the next day.

We are afraid as natural disasters become more frequent and devastating. We witness injustice being done to our own families,  loved ones, and communities – often  by those in power. We see innocent and good people being treated cruelly, sometimes  even facing tragic ends. We are  silenced, forced to endure, and sometimes feel like we cannot go on. It can feel like  we are locked in our own tombs of despair – helpless and hopeless.

Most of the time, we feel helpless because situations seem beyond our of control. Our lives – and the world around us – feel like they are falling apart. But let’s not be discouraged by all the evil  happening in our lives. It’s not easy, but what we can do right now is to focus on our hope and the Good News revealed  in the Gospel. The Gospel assures us that suffering is not the end of our story. Just as Jesus rose from the dead, we too can rise from our struggles. His resurrection reminds us that light follows darkness and hope arises from despair. This is the Good News that we are celebrating with joyful hearts.

Jesus, our Lord and Savior, understands our pain because he has endured suffering and death out of love for us. He is with us in our struggles, and will lift us from our trials.

In the Gospel, the angel reminded the women at the tomb of Jesus’  words: “Remember what He told you while he was still in Galilee – that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified, and rise on the third day”. In that moment, the women realized that it was not the end of their hope – but  the beginning of a far greater reality. The angels’ words were an awakening moment. The women  remembered what Jesus has said,  and their focus shifted from the sorrow of the empty tomb to the promises of Christ. With renewed faith, they left the tomb to proclaim what they had seen and heard.

This is also an invitation to remember what Jesus has done for us and to recognize who He truly is. He is the God of light and the living. He is the God who loves us so much that He gave his own life. He is alive and among us. Let’s draw our courage and hope from this Good News and let’s seek Christ in our sufferings and become witnesses to his resurrection in our lives and the lives of others.

May we ask God the grace to truly understand and appreciate the message of the angels: Jesus is no longer in the tomb –  He is alive, and He has fulfilled His promise.

It is good to reflect on what this means to us personally.  If Jesus is alive, then our faith is not in vain. His resurrection is a call to transformation – to leave behind our fears and embrace the new life He offers. We are called to live as people of hope, to share the Good News with those who are struggling. We are called to be the light in the darkness, to offer kindness where there is hatred, to bring healing where there is pain, and to sow peace where there is division. The risen Christ empowers us to become instruments of His love in the world.

The truth is, only by the grace of Jesus Christ can we transform our suffering, brokenness, and hopelessness into hope, light, opportunity, and victory. Why not place our trust in the Good News of God. The Gospel assures that “the tomb is no longer a place of death but a place of revelation. It no longer symbolizes darkness and mourning but has become a source of light and joy.” With God’s grace and the power of His Good News, our suffering, worries, anxiety, and fear need  not control over our lives.

Let’s always remember what happened at the tomb – and  live each day with courage, joy, and unwavering hope.

Image above from Google/Christianity.com.