Monday in the Octave of Easter A, Mt 28, 8-16

Do not worry! Tell my brothers to go to Galilee; they’ll see me there. (Mt 28:10).
Tell my brothers. What? He rose from the dead, as he had predicted. Hallelujah! In the far eastern region of Palestine near Jerusalem, a grave is carved in the rock. This grave is strange all over the world; even that empty one attracts thousands of pilgrims, happy to kiss its cold stone. Above the cemetery is a beautiful church, and the Franciscans guard this holy grave. Who belongs there, who is buried in it? It’s already empty. Only our Savior was buried there, but he is no longer there. On the third day, Jesus Christ rose from the dead with his own power, as he had predicted. “He stood up!”
For the first time, the soldiers shouted to guard the grave and report it to the priests of Jerusalem. “He has risen” is not here, the angel told the women on Sunday morning when they came to complete the funeral ceremonies. The apostles claim the “rising” of the dead Jesus of Nazareth, whom you crucified, before the whole nation, even in the judicial inquiry before the High Council in Jerusalem. And they sign their testimony with their own blood. Today the world is gladly spreading that there was a dead Jesus Christ in the Holy Sepulcher, but on the third day, he rose gloriously from the dead, as he had predicted. My Jesus, this fact is an excellent testimony of you, that you are truthful, that you are our Savior, and that you are our God. Help us to contemplate this event usefully today and to consolidate these truths in ourselves permanently.
Several famous graves are known in history. In Halicarnassus in Asia Minor, the wife of King Mausolus in the 4th century BC had such a famous tomb built for her deceased husband that she still claims the mausoleum as her own. Pharaohs in Egypt built their famous tombs and pyramids, putting on their walls their eternal history and remarkable deeds. But only on the grave of Christ is the most famous act of all time marked: “He is not here because he has risen, as he said” (Mt 28:6). When the Pharisees demanded a miracle from Jesus, a sign, he replied, “This generation … asks for a sign, but it will not receive a sign except the sign of Jonah” (Luke 11:29).
And at other times, he said, “Collapse this temple, and I will build it in three days.” (John 2:19) And he pointed to himself. He also told his apostles at the entrance to Jerusalem: “The Son of Man is whipped and killed, but he shall rise again on the third day” (Luke 18:33). The Pharisees and the high priests remembered this, and they asked Pilate to guard the grave. And their intervention was used by God so that it was precisely those guardians “to inform the high priests of all that had happened” (Mt 28:11). Since he has indeed predicted and accomplished by Resurrection, the rest of his speech is real: that it is God, that we have an immortal soul, and that after death, life is eternal. He is truthful, and we will draw conclusions from his words and live according to these truths.
When Jesus rose from the dead, he first had to die. Yes, he died because he wanted to. He died for us to ensure eternal life. And this is our victory. Christians were persecuted under Emperor Diocletian. They captured men, women, and children and drove them into the Colosseum circus, where the pagans waited for amusement as Christians wailed and fled from the beasts. They did not scream or run; they sang: “Resurrexit”—” Resurgence,” which means: He has risen from the dead; we too will get up. Hallelujah! This belief of the martyrs also beats our hearts. We, too, confess: He rose from the dead on the third day. But this is also the ultimate testimony that Jesus Christ is not just a human being. He is truthful and claimed to be God! He confirmed this with an oath and died for it. The apostles also professed that Jesus Christ was God, and they died for that truth. Even after 2000 years, this truth works, and Christ lives, Christ rules, and Christ triumphs! And so it gains the hearts of all nations.
If our religion ended with the words, “The crucified man died and was buried,” long ago, there would be no longer the relics of Christ, Christians, or the Church. But our confession continues, and history bears witness to it: “… the third day has risen from the dead” and lives and salutes us: Do not worry! And this is not to be feared for the righteous and for the sinners, but only for the others only for the next message that the Risen Jesus gave to the Apostles. When he first appeared to them, he greeted them, “Peace is with you… Receive the Holy Spirit. Whoever you forgive sins will be forgiven to him, and you will be detained.” (John 20:23) Therefore, do not be afraid of Christ or sinners, but on the condition that you repent and be friends of Jesus. Regret is calcifying, but it is even more beautiful to endure faithfully in love, to endure with the Resurrection, and to secure the glory of the Resurrection for eternal life. Hallelujah! Praise God, our God, the Savior, and our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us always praise him here on earth, and he will connect us with the Father in Heaven when we are already on earth, combined with the Triune God in the grace of sanctification.