Romans 6:3-11

You cannot have forgotten that all of us, when we were baptised into Christ Jesus, were baptised into his death. So by our baptism into his death we were buried with him, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glorious power, we too should begin living a new life. If we have been joined to him by dying a death like his, so we shall be by a resurrection like his; realising that our former self was crucified with him, so that the self which belonged to sin should be destroyed and we should be freed from the slavery of sin. Someone who has died, of course, no longer has to answer for sin. But we believe that, if we died with Christ, then we shall live with him too. We know that Christ has been raised from the dead and will never die again. Death has no power over him any more. For by dying, he is dead to sin once and for all, and now the life that he lives is life with God. In the same way, you must see yourselves as being dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus.

Mark 16:1-7

When the Sabbath was over, Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices with which to go and anoint him. And very early in the morning on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ But when they looked they saw that the stone—which was very big—had already been rolled back. On entering the tomb they saw a young man in a white robe seated on the tight-hand side, and they were struck with amazement. But he said to them, ‘There is no need to be so amazed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified: he has misen, he is not here. See, here is the place where they laid hint. But you must go and tell his disciples and Peter, “He Is going ahead of you to Galilee; that is where you will see him, just as he told you.”

Reflection

The death of Jesus seemed to many as the end of a short era marked by many extraordinary events. Most of those who had followed him felt disheartened. Some of his disciples remained indoors for fear of the Jews; Peter and a few others preferred to return to their old profession of fishing; the pious women went to anoint the body of Jesus. None of them seemed to have ever thought of the resurrection! To the surprise of everyone, the angel announces, “He has been raised, he is not here.” For us who live in a period very distant from that of Jesus, the main proof for the resurrection is the experience of those who have witnessed the truth. And the experience of those witnesses has to be strengthened by our own experience of Jesus alive in us.