First Reading: Acts 4:13-21
Psalm 118           
Gospel: Mark 16:9-15
 
The Sanhedrin, the ruling council of the Jewish people of that time, rejected the idea that Jesus could be the Messiah, so they denied that he had risen. To believe in resurrection would demand a major change in their beliefs, a reinterpretation of their Scripture and traditions, and accepting something very new. Yet two fishermen, Peter and John, stood before this Council insisting that the crucified Jesus was alive again, that he is now present as a living force for healing and renewal. They made this claim knowing the danger to their lives. The message was too important to be repressed by any human authority.
The Risen Christ rolled away more stones than just the one blocking the entrance of his tomb. He opened their “stony hearts”. He flung wide open the doors to the future: he offered a glimpse of what could be, of what lies beyond today. The disciples (and we ourselves) are asked to accept (yes, on faith but also on the testimony of witnesses) that Jesus is our Saviour. He throws new light on life: he lets us re-evaluate all that we hold be true. Are we willing to allow his love to cast its bright light on our minds, so that we shape our future in relation to Him? If we trust in our hearts that He has risen, our lives will be energized by this faith.
I guess we tend to believe bad news more than good news: we may be even slower than the first disciples to believe the Gospel. But every Easter Jesus calls on us to believe that he is risen, with all that this good news implies. He gives us another chance. Despite the constant bad new news that surrounds us daily, we can be inspired by the unbelievably good news that Jesus is alive and that we have a share in his risen life, not only  beyond this earthly life but  already, here and now, that we are invited to “go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.”
Easter blessings.
Fr. Brian