Walking with Jesus: Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord A

For Sunday, April 5, 2026

Acts 10:34, 37-43; Colossians 3:1-4; John 20:1-9


We have come to the great and glorious Easter 2026. How has our Lent been? Wonderful? Or do we wish we would’ve been better with our sacrifices, more sorry for our sins, successful in our renewal? Has it included moments that we felt closer to God’s love and realized He is present to us, just the way we are now: sinners in need of redemption? And that we are loved by God and have been redeemed by Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection? God created us and put us in the world at this time and place, asking us to aid in the continued Redemption — loving as Jesus taught us how to love and live love.

Perhaps we wonder why He didn’t redeem us by turning all the evil in the world to good. We wonder why He hasn’t turned human suffering into joy. But in the Lenten readings Jesus tells us that He is not that kind of Redeemer. On Good Friday He says to Pilate, “My kingdom does not belong to this world.” [John 18:36] He doesn’t intend to dominate His subjects, nor does He plan to interfere with our free will by guaranteeing freedom, honesty, justice, peace and kindness. In other words, He has no intention of changing us into robots. He has come to save us and show us that Heaven is our home.

Heaven is not about rewards for our accomplishments, industry, human successes, advancements — it is about love and realizing that our role is being His followers in love. He redeemed us by condemning the evil in the world. Sometimes I feel that the Apostles believed He could suppress human evil and force people to obey him, most especially by crushing Roman rule, and destroy the injustice to His people. But “I am not that kind of Redeemer.” Jesus explains this very matter-of-factly in John 3:17: God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Jesus encounters all His creatures all over, knowing that human beings are selfish, alienated from one another, hostile to God. He responds in love and with love — even dying on the cross for you, me, and all. How much love He has for all — for me. Am I grateful? Easter is about this and about continuing to be a loving, kind and forgiving person. Am I?

St. Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles expressing the meaning of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection through the words of Peter, one of its leaders, who tells the world about Jesus and what God has achieved in and through Him on behalf of all the world. The bottom line is that God has revealed Himself consistently by His actions. He made Himself known in history, choosing His people, delivering them from slavery in Egypt and making a covenant with them in the Commandments. He sent the prophets to correct them and help them, forgiving them endlessly. All of this shows that God is a God of love, and His crowning gift was sending His only Son into the world so that we might have life through Him. “If we acknowledge our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing. If we say, ‘We have not sinned,’ we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” [1 John 4:9-10]

John’s gospel is full of informative images: Mary comes to the tomb while it is dark, not dawn — John is utilizing light/darkness symbolism. Lack of faith is a life in darkness. Mary visits the tomb on the first day of the week as we have come to celebrate our day of worship on Sunday. We don’t know why she comes; maybe to weep or to anoint the body? She doesn’t know why the stone is removed — it seems that there is no indication of resurrection. Rather, she presumes the body of Jesus has been taken away. She runs off to tell Peter and “the other disciple.” The reading seems to emphasize the “other disciple” — John only refers to himself in his gospel as the “one that Jesus loved.” He is loved, and he is the only one in the account who is said to believe. Recognizing Peter’s privileged status within the community, he lets Peter enter the tomb first.

The presence of the burial cloths is significant — they are still in the tomb. Jesus’ body is not. Mary feels that the body has been taken away with no thought of the Resurrection. If someone has come to desecrate the body, why would they leave the wrappings? If they were just going to take Him away, why not take the cloths? Why is the head cloth rolled up separately? No idea. This seems to imply that they do not understand the Scriptures concerning the resurrection of Jesus and His rising from the dead. They will need both a resurrection experience and the opening of their minds to the meaning of Scriptures. There is so much contained in this passage that I find it rewarding for us to sit and read it slowly, thinking and reflecting, letting God lead us from there.  

So I reflect on:

• We get up each day saying goodbye; heading out to school, work, retirement “duties.” Easter is another family day — big day, gatherings, afterward cleanup. Where is the Easter celebration? Is it about the Lord or not?
• So often we hear of the open tomb. Do we stop to realize how shocking that is? He is dead and buried — how do we feel about it now? Then the tomb is empty — are we happy about this or shaken? Terrified? How is this feast’s fear transformed into perfect joy?

Sacred Space 2026 states:

“Many of the post-Easter stories are life-giving and wonderful. Try to gain as much from them as you can. The very sort of transformation and spirit-bestowing energy that we ourselves are looking and begging for is very evident. Two citizens from the Jerusalem district are trudging homeward with heavy hearts and even heavier feet. A Stranger joins them on their journey and asks why they look so doleful. Talk with them and see what you can learn from the account.”