Hello Ursuline, as we observe Holy Week and reflect on the Passion of Christ, feel free to use this Gospel Preview to celebrate Easter this Sunday. Leave any prayer intentions here, and we wish you and your family a joyful Easter!

 

Summary

In this Easter Gospel passage, Mary of Magdala is walking by Jesus’ tomb and saw that the stone in the front of it had been rolled back. She ran back to tell Simon Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved and said, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him. The two disciples ran to the tomb, but “the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first”. He did not go inside, but he saw the burial clothes laying on the ground. When Peter got there, he saw the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head rolled up in a separate place than the other burial cloths. Then the other disciple went inside the tomb, “and he saw and believed.” The passage ends: “For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead."

 

Background

Mary Magdalene visits the tomb of Jesus the morning after the Sabbath. When she runs to get Peter and the other disciple, John calls him the “disciple whom Jesus loved”. This disciple is referenced in this way five different times in John’s gospel. While many believe that this disciple is John, but there is no scholarly consensus on this. As Peter and the beloved disciple are running to the tomb, it’s pointed out that the beloved disciple makes it to the tomb first. This can also be connected with John 21:7-8, where the beloved disciple is the first to see Jesus after his Resurrection. The linen cloths being in the tomb show that Jesus’ body was originally there, and that now he has resurrected. (Their orderly folding also shows that his body wouldn’t have been stolen.) The disciples and Mary Magdalene don’t seem to know what to make of the scene, but the ending verse implies that they are coming to believe in Jesus’ glorious Resurrection.

 

Application

In this reading, Peter and the disciples were filled with a deep sadness over Jesus's death. They recognized the limits of what they could do in this tragic time, and quietly waited and rested. Peter and the disciples trusted in Jesus's abilities and that this might not be the end. Even in Jesus' suffering, he told his disciples of the peace that was coming. In times of uncertainty, we must take a step back as the disciples did. We must recognize that we did what needed to be done, and all that we can do is trust in the future. And as they discover that Jesus' body is not in the tomb, they become the first witnesses to God's the salvation of the world.

 

Questions

How can I learn to stop worrying about the future and trust in God's plan?

How can I find comfort when life is difficult?

What can I do in my daily life to celebrate God's love and the joy that comes from Christ's Resurrection?

 

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Written by Maddie Colbert '22 and Ava Place '23

Illustrated by Elle de la Garza '22

 

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