Today's Gospel

Run Toward the Tomb!

What is the best Sunday morning you've ever had? Welcome back to Radical and Relevant, and Happy Easter. It must have been some Sunday morning. It must have been an incredible Sunday morning. Today's reading is from the Gospel of John, chapter 20, verses one through nine. On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early while it was still dark and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." Peter came out with the other disciple, and they went toward the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloth lying there. But he did not go in. And Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloth lying and the napkin, which had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed. For as yet, they did not know the Scripture that he must rise from the dead.

What is it that jumps out at you today? It's this idea that Jesus is missing. Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb, Jesus isn't dead. Jesus is missing. She's panicked. She goes to Peter and John and says, "Jesus is missing," and then they're panicked. But how often in our lives, Jesus is missing and we're unaware that Jesus is missing from our lives? We're not panicked, we're not perturbed, we're just going on with life, and Jesus is missing. And then Peter and John discover Jesus is missing. There's an urgency, right? They're running towards the tomb. When we realize in our own lives that Jesus is missing, how do we respond to that? Do we run toward the tomb? Do we run to work out, okay, how did I set Jesus out of my life again? And then I think the other beautiful thing for us to reflect upon today is that for us, Jesus isn't missing. We know in every tabernacle, in every monster, in every city, in every town, in every village, all around the world, we know where we can find Jesus. And that is an astounding gift to be able to go and sit with Jesus, spend time with Jesus, just be in His presence. Most people ask me when you go to adoration, where you go visit the church, you sit there, what do you do? You can do many things, right? You can pray. You can read the scriptures. You can read a good spiritual book. But sometimes it's okay just to be there, just to be with God, just to sit in His presence, and just to soak up His peace, His joy, His love, His kindness, His wisdom, His generosity, His courage, so that we can go out into the world and be great lights to the people in our lives, great lights in the situations and circumstances of our lives. Have a great day and remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.