Easter Sunday (“B”)
April 12, 2009

Q. 523: This gospel is a little confusing: “the other disciple” believed, but neither he nor Peter understood about the resurrection. What is going on here?

A. 523: Put yourself in the shoes of Simon Peter and John (John is traditionally identified as “the other disciple” in the Gospel story), as you read about this wonderful event that undergirds our faith (John 20:1-9). Mary Magdalene has just told you that the body of Jesus “has been taken” and is missing. What would make you believe in the Resurrection, as John did, rather than believing in “grave robbers”?

Scholars tell us that the “burial cloth [that had covered Jesus’ face was] rolled up in a separate place” (v.7) really is an indication that no robbery had taken place. After all, grave robbers would be in such a hurry that they would not have taken time to be “neat and tidy” as they went about their nefarious business. Secondly, they would not have left behind expensive burial linens (this type of cloth was identified in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke), when they could have easily sold those linens for a very good price.

In any event, we are told that “the other disciple…saw and believed.” This is a faith event – and faith does not demand any evidence, even though the “missing body” of Jesus was one kind of evidence. Faith is a gift of God. It is a response to the unknown, and this first level of response did not include full understanding for Peter and the other disciple. However, Peter and the other disciple would have their faith confirmed later on during the resurrection appearances by Jesus. Since the Resurrection is a mystery of faith, today we accept it with the “obedience of faith” (Dei Verbum 5).

At any level of belief, it is joy that floods our heart as we stand in awe and wonder at such a great event — HE IS RISEN!

KNOW YOUR CATECHISM! The empty tomb is not “proof” of the resurrection; but it is the first step in that recognition. When combined with the arrangements of the linen cloths, it convinced “the other disciple” that Jesus had indeed risen (CCC #640). Confirmation would soon come in appearances by Jesus to the disciples (CCC #642).

Deacon Paul Rooney
Mary Our Queen Parish, Omaha

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