The night when Christ rose from the dead

It is night. Jesus is in the tomb. The soldiers guard the tomb. Where is the Mother of God this night? How does she spend this night? Where are the Apostles? What is their state of mind? What do they feel? Horror and fear. And what about the women who had followed Jesus? What about the soldiers, enemies? What is the spiritual atmosphere in Jerusalem like? Christ is in the tomb. The enemies rejoice over Him…

But this is not the end! JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD! We do not know when exactly, the Scriptures do not say whether it was at midnight or at one or two o’clock in the morning. It is not important when exactly it happened. The whole night is holy. After Jesus’ death His spirit descended from the Father’s hands into the place called Sheol, or Hades, and crushed its gates. Then His spirit returns into the body. His body is not only raised to life but also transfigured. It means that Christ’s body is glorified. Jesus comes out of the tomb. He passes through the stone walls. The soldiers still guard the tomb but it is now empty. In the morning, an angel rolls back the stone from the door of the tomb but Christ does not come out. The angel just reveals that Jesus is not there. The tomb is empty, Jesus left the tomb. Where in Jerusalem is His spirit and His glorious body this night? Tradition has it that He first appeared to the Blessed Virgin.

In prayer, we can experience the moment of the Resurrection when God’s almighty power enters the dead body of Christ and this body is transformed and raised to life. We perceive God’s omnipotence and confess our faith in this greatest miracle. God created the whole universe out of nothing; He created all stars, galaxies and also our Earth which is but a mere speck in the universe. We can see the miracles of God’s almightiness at every step. We are filled with wonder at every leaf or tree or at a mere seed of a pine tree which is planted in the ground and then grows into a 15-metre-tall pine tree which draws water from the ground without having any pump. This all is programmed in one little seed. These are the wonders of nature worked by the Lord. It is the manifestation of God’s almighty power which made all things out of nothing. And this Almighty God is here. Now is the moment of the Resurrection.

However, the Resurrection does not concern Jesus alone. The Scripture says: “We also were raised with Him.” (Col 2:12) He assumed our nature; God became man – not an angel – that He might make us gods, adopted sons of God, heirs of God’s kingdom. God’s Word says that we were buried with Him through baptism into death and received a new life. What new life? It is the life of the risen Christ, divine life. I am a partaker of Christ’s Resurrection. It is a mystery, but it is true.

Let us imagine that we are in a dark stone tomb. We can see the dead body of Jesus wrapped in the shroud. The spirit of Jesus enters the body. The body is not only raised to life but also transformed. Jairus’ daughter, the young man of Naim and Lazarus were raised by Christ but then died again because their bodies were not transformed and glorified like the body of Christ.

Let us realize that Christ on the cross conquered sin, death and the devil. Now He comes out of the tomb as the Victor. Through baptism we are united to the mystery of Christ’s death and Resurrection.

The Resurrection of Christ is a reality. What happened on Saturday night? The tomb was sealed and it was dark inside. The dead body of Jesus was lying in the tomb. The soldiers were guarding the tomb. Perhaps they lit a fire near the tomb and watched the entrance. In this complete silence, God’s almighty power raises and transforms Christ’s body which is no longer subject to physical laws. There was no witness to that moment. We do not know whether Jesus rose at the beginning or in the middle of the night or early in the morning. The whole Saturday night is sanctified by this greatest miracle which affects each one of us. Jesus rose physically and really 2,000 years ago. In baptism, we have become members of the Mystical Body of Christ, which is called the Church. Jesus is mysteriously both in us and in our midst. He says: “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” He also says: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me has eternal life.” We have eternal life already now really and essentially, though not yet in fullness and glory. The power of Christ’s Resurrection becomes manifest in our body as far as through the obedience of faith we enter Christ’s death – that means, as far as we give ourselves wholly to God or, in other words, as far as we love God and progress towards the fulfillment of the greatest commandment – to love God with all our heart, all our soul and all our strength. The fulfillment of this first commandment makes present Christ’s death in us after we were baptized into it passively. Now by faith and love – agape – we are united to Christ and the power of His Resurrection works in us.

Every Saturday night stop at least for one minute and realize that Christ is risen. You can sing a song about Christ’s Resurrection, e.g. one stanza at least.

“Jesus, You are here really. I cannot see You with my physical eyes but I realize Your presence by faith, I realize that You see me and love me and that You want to speak to me. I cannot hear Your physical voice but You put Your words into my mind and into my heart, and You want me to abide in Your word.”

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