Happy Easter! In his version of the story of the women arriving to the tomb early in the morning of the Lord’s Resurrection, Saint Matthew tells us about an angel of God descending from heaven. A great earthquake is produced by the landing of the angel. The angel then rolls back the huge stone that blocked access to the interior of the tomb. The angel ends his job by sitting upon the stone. This dramatic action is being watched by Mary Magdalene and the other Mary and by the men guarding the tomb.

Let us now move back in time, to the very beginning of humanity. After Adam and Eve committed original sin, God expels them from the garden of Eden. God then places an angel to guard the way to the tree of life. Condemned to live now in the kingdom of death, Adam has no way to return to the kingdom of life. Original sin has interrupted the communion with God. Adam was initially told not to eat from the tree of good and evil. If he would do it, death was his punishment. And he did it, so he was to die.  

God then found himself in a pickle. Being himself perfect justice and perfect mercy, how was God able to satisfy both? In his infinite wisdom God came up with the solution: someone else should die instead of Adam. Like a sacrificial lamb. That person was going to be no one else other than his only begotten Son, who would become a human being to offer his life for the forgiveness of sin.

Let us come back to the scene at the tomb on Easter morning. The scene of the angel is the reversal of the scene from the expelling from Paradise. The Son of God did indeed die as God had planned. God himself went to the kingdom of death to rescue Adam and all human beings. This fact proves God’s solidarity with us, his great mercy, and above all, his great love for us. What we see in the scene at the tomb is the same creature that was placed originally to prevent access to the kingdom of life now being sent to unlock the door of the kingdom of death. The rolling back of the stone indicates that access to life with God is now available. This is the beginning of the good news of the Resurrection of the Lord. The gesture of the angel sitting upon the stone signifies the absolute control that God has over death. It is as if God were laughing at death. Saint Paul tells the Corinthians, “Where, O death is your victory?”

Let us now focus on the people watching the scene, and the men guarding the tomb and the women. The men are shaken with fear of the angel and become like dead men. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary do not become like dead people. We see the two groups of people that always come about when God shows up in their lives: people who believe and people who do not believe.

What is ironic is that the people who were physically closer to the dead body of the Lord, the men guarding the tomb, were not aware of the Resurrection. Still, they were not able to absorb the news because they were in a state of unbelief. Their sins prevented them from recognizing the mystery of God. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were in a very different state, they did believe; they had a relationship of faith and love with the Lord during his earthy life.

The same is true today. There are still the same two groups, those who believe and those who deny. What great news for those who believe is the Resurrection of the Lord. And even for those who do not believe, perhaps because their sins do not allow them to recognize God in their lives, for them there is good news today because the Risen Lord will be searching for them. Just as the Lord sent the women and the disciples to reach out to those who did not believe, the Lord is sending us today to share the great news of the Resurrection. The best way to do it is with our way of life. Let us humbly ask the Risen Lord to grant us his grace to believe in him and to love him more. Happy Easter!