Easter Sunday – Year A
Fr. Joonbin Lim
Preached: April 5, 2026
In today’s Gospel, Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb early in the morning, while it is still dark, and sees that the stone has been removed. She runs to Peter and the other disciple. They both go to the tomb. They see the linen cloths lying there, and then the Gospel says: “He saw and believed.”
Today’s Gospel does not describe the moment of the Resurrection itself. Instead, it shows us the empty tomb and the beginning of faith in the hearts of the disciples.
This is important. At first, the disciples did not fully understand what had happened. They first encountered what seemed like absence: an empty tomb. And yet, that empty tomb became the sign that death was not the end.
So the Resurrection is not simply about remembering something from the past. Jesus does not belong only to the past. The risen Lord is alive now, and He is present in our lives today.
>And this faith in the Resurrection changes the way we see our lives.
First, it touches our past. Many of us carry painful memories, regrets, wounds, and losses. Sometimes we think the past is over and cannot be changed. But in the risen Christ, even our wounded memories can be touched by His healing and new life.
Second, it transforms our present. The pain, fear, and burdens we carry now do not have the final word. The empty tomb tells us that darkness is not the end, sorrow is not the end, and suffering is not the end. Even in the darkest moment, God can bring forth life.
And finally, the Resurrection opens our future. The future is no longer only a source of fear or uncertainty. In Christ, it becomes a promise. That is the power of Resurrection faith: a wounded past can be healed, a difficult present can be lived with hope, and the future can be received with trust.
My brothers and sisters, the disciples did not understand everything at once. The Gospel even tells us that they still did not understand the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. And yet, the beloved disciple saw and believed.
Our faith is often like that too. We do not understand everything first and then believe. Very often, we are asked to believe while we are still standing before a painful mystery or an unanswered question. And little by little, faith opens our eyes.
So today, let us make the same confession: the risen Lord does not belong only to the past. He is alive now. He is here, in this very moment, in the middle of our lives, in our joys and sorrows, in our fears and hopes.
This is the place where my past, my present, and my future meet.
This is the time and place where I am living now.
And the risen Lord is here.
May the risen Christ heal our past, strengthen our present, and open our future with hope. And may we, like the beloved disciple, see and believe.
Amen.
