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Running with Joy from the Empty Tombs
Where We Are
Alleluia! We are in the Easter Octave, the eight days that the Church celebrates as one continuous feast. Monday within the Octave continues the breathless joy of yesterday's discovery. The evangelist Matthew picks up where we left off at the Vigil: the women leave the tomb "with fear and in great joy, running" to tell the disciples. Meanwhile, in Acts, Peter delivers his first great sermon at Pentecost, proclaiming that God raised Jesus from the dead according to the Scriptures. Every day this week, the Church gives us a different Gospel account of the Resurrection appearances, letting us see the Risen Lord through multiple eyes.
The Word
Peter stands before the crowd in Jerusalem and proclaims that Jesus of Nazareth, attested by God through mighty works, was crucified according to the definite plan of God, but "God raised him up, having freed him from the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it." Peter quotes David's psalm: "You will not abandon my soul to Sheol." In Matthew's Gospel, the women leave the tomb running with the angel's message. On the road, Jesus himself meets them. His first word is "Hail," a greeting of joy. They fall at his feet and worship him. Jesus tells them not to be afraid and to send his brothers to Galilee. Meanwhile, the guards report to the chief priests, and a cover story is invented: the disciples stole the body while the guards slept.
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Reflect
There is a striking contrast in today's readings between those who run toward the Resurrection and those who run away from it.
The women run with joy. They have seen the empty tomb, heard the angel's message, and now they encounter the Risen Jesus himself on the road. Their response is immediate and physical: they grasp his feet and worship. There is nothing theoretical about their faith. They touch him. They hold on. Their joy is embodied and urgent.
The guards, by contrast, are paid to spread a lie. The chief priests and elders, confronted with evidence of the Resurrection, choose to manufacture an alternative narrative rather than face the implications. The irony is devastating: they accuse the disciples of stealing a body, while they themselves are trying to steal the truth.
Peter's sermon in Acts gives us the theological framework. The Resurrection was not an accident or a surprise to God; it was the fulfillment of what David prophesied centuries earlier. Death could not hold Jesus because he is the Holy One of God. Peter speaks with a confidence that would have been unthinkable just weeks earlier, when he was denying Jesus by a charcoal fire.
The transformation of Peter from denier to preacher is itself evidence of the Resurrection. Something happened between Good Friday and Pentecost that turned a frightened fisherman into a man willing to stand before thousands and stake his life on the claim that Jesus is alive. That something was not an idea or a feeling. It was an encounter with the Risen Lord.
Living It
The Easter Octave invites us to sustain the joy, not just for a day, but for a week and beyond. Today, share the Easter message with someone who needs to hear it. Send a message, make a call, or visit someone who is grieving or discouraged, and remind them that death does not have the final word. Pay attention to the ways you might be tempted, like the guards, to explain away the work of God in your life. Where has God done something unexpected, and are you acknowledging it or rationalizing it? Let Peter's boldness inspire you: the same Spirit that transformed a denier into a preacher is available to you today.
Prayer
Risen Lord, you met the women on the road and your first word was joy. Meet us today in the ordinary paths of our lives, and let us recognize you. Give us the boldness of Peter, who proclaimed your Resurrection before thousands. Give us the honesty to see your work in our lives without explaining it away. We hold on to your feet like the women at the tomb, because we never want to let go of this joy. Alleluia. Amen.
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