THE STONE HAS BEEN ROLLED AWAY

HOMILY FOR THE HOLY MASS OF THE EASTER VIGIL

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

Alleluia!!! He has risen. This was the message of the two men in brilliant clothes to the women that went to anoint the body of Jesus at the first sight of the dawn. Yes, the King of kings is alive. The tomb is empty. The stone has been rolled away. Oh Yes, we are happy that it never ended in death. After suffering comes glory. After death comes resurrection. After misery comes joy. The joy in our heart is unquantifiable that the saviour has risen. Since he is risen and alive, we are sure of our own resurrection and liveliness. Because He lives we profess tomorrow. Because he has conquered death, we can battle with death and conquer it. Death has no power again. The First Reading (Rom. 6:3-11) captures this defeat over death so beautifully. As Christ has been raised from the dead, we are sure of a new life. Since we imitated Him in his death, we shall also imitate him in His resurrection. This becomes a proof that our former selves have been crucified with him. This means that sin has been destroyed and we have been freed from its slavery. Death has been completely defeated. Alleluia!!!

It is indeed amazing for us what the Lord has done. In the Gospel (Luke 24:1-12), Peter felt this same amazement on discovering that the testimony of the women to the disciples was true. He ran to the tomb, and discovered it was empty. He bent down and saw the binding cloths, and went home amazed. These two realities -the empty tomb and the binding cloths- were the material evidence that Jesus was no longer in that tomb.

The tomb

The tomb was found empty because the body was no longer in it. This is the first proof of the resurrection. It was not only that the tomb was found empty, but the two men testified that he has risen, and reminded the women of his words while he was with them. The Psalmist says: for you will not leave my soul in hades nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption (Psalm16:10). Those women may have been thinking that since the stone was rolled away, someone may have tampered with the body of Christ. But the men’s message cleared their doubts. They went to tell their testimony to the followers, but they did not believe them. Peter ran to the tomb and discovered indeed that the women’s testimony was true. The tomb was empty. Christ was no longer in there.

The significance of the tomb is that it imprisons the body and creates a gap between the living and the dead such that no sane person would desire to live in tombs while still alive. And so, the emptiness of that tomb meant freedom and reconciliation. Oh Night, truly blessed, when heaven is wedded to the earth, and man reconciled with God. The body is no longer a prisoner of death. Death no longer separates us from the living. There is now a spiritual relationship that exists between the living and dead. Death has become a passage to new life, and no longer a misfortune for the Christian. The emptiness of that tomb signifies also the emptiness of our worries. Sometimes, we may want to think about the troubles and difficulties of life in the sense of tombs that imprison us and that alienates us from others. But then again, when we remember that the Lord has rolled away that stone with which the tomb was blocked like he did for Lazarus, we are encouraged to face the uncertainties of life bravely and never to grow weak. He has rolled away the stone for us, and he has declared us free. No more slavery, no more alienation.

The Cloths

When Peter reached the tomb and entered, he saw the binding cloths. Jesus rose, but left the cloths with which he was buried. His resurrection was not a return to his previous condition of life. The buried body needed a binding cloth but the resurrected body did not need any. That resurrected body is glorious. He is no longer bound by human needs. He has gone beyond the need for cloths. The glorified body has transcended materialism and has returned humanity to her state before the fall of Adam. We must recall that before their fall, Adam and Eve needed no clothing, but still had everything they needed. The resurrected body has become impassible, incorruptible, and agile. This means that there is no more suffering, no more decay and no more weakness. In the resurrection, our bodies are transformed that there would be no more need for clothing. The clothing would become the glory of Christ. The implication of all these is that as those who are rising with Jesus, we should not return to our previous life of sin. We should do away with everything that can cause us distractions, remaining focused to our Christian calling.

The tomb could not hold Jesus. The evil powers of this world were unable to stamp out the truth of his eternal existence. There is great power in the resurrection. To experience this power that transforms the life of Christians is to live those cloths (distractions, sins, worries, discontentment) and rise with our glorified bodies. We need to pray like Paul: that I may know Christ and the power of his resurrection, and may share in his suffering, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead (Phil. 3:10-11). The challenge of the empty tomb is one that tells us to rise and leave those tombs and those burial linens. Why should we be complacent with those tomb-like conditions and situations? Why not grab the chance to rise with Christ? My Easter wish is that we find strength in God to resurrect from those tombs of difficulties, of worries, of disappointments, of poverty of the spirit, and of complacency in vices into the space of joy, peace, spiritual well-being and the zeal for virtues. Do not forget that the power of this holy night dispels all evil, washes guilt away, restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy; it casts out hatred, brings us peace and humbles earthly pride. Yes! He has risen, and we have risen with him. HAPPY EASTER. God bless you.