Gospel: Jn 20:1a, 2-8
ON the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.
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It is John, “the other disciple whom Jesus loved,” who sees and believes. John gets it right. He knows how to make use of the data available to his senses. First, he hears from Mary of Magdala about the opened tomb. He runs with Peter to find out. He arrives ahead of him, but he gives Peter the honor to see first what is inside. For Peter, nothing rings a bell. He sees only burial cloths, nothing more.
John, a low-profile disciple, unlike Peter, makes an act of faith after processing what he has heard from Mary and Peter and from what he has seen himself.
Very important is the verb “to believe.” This is the desired effect when we encounter God. Jesus is not in his tomb, but that should tell us something. He is risen from the dead. We should burst into joy singing “Alleluia.”
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2018,” ST. PAULS Philippines, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
