The women approached him, embraced his feet and worshiped him. But Jesus said to
them, “Do not be afraid! Go and tell my brothers to set out for Galilee; there, they will
see me.”
As the women proceeded on their way, some of the guards went in to the city, and
reported to the chief priests all that had happened. The chief priests met with the
elders, and decided to give the soldiers a large sum of money, with this order, “Say that
his disciples came by night while you were asleep, and stole the body of Jesus.
If Pilate comes to know of this, we will explain the situation and keep you out of trouble.”
The soldiers accepted the money and did as they were told. This story has
circulated among the Jews until this day.
Reflect
“Called to be holy.” We continue our journey of faith during this Easter season.
Our hearts are filled with joy because the Lord Jesus, through the power of his
resurrection, has given us a new life. Christ’s resurrection gives us courage and
boldness to lead a holy life. But anti-resurrection forces also exist around us,
pulling us back to our old self. Theseforces make us believe that a life with the
resurrected Lord is not possible. However, weknow that a life of holiness is already
made possible by Jesus’ triumph over sin and death. We are called to be holy.
Moreover, a holy life abhors lies and resist any temptation to be an instrument of
falsehood. In today’s Gospel, on the one hand, the women who saw the
resurrected Lord were overjoyed. They embraced Jesus’ feet and worshipped
him. On the other hand, the guards who reported to the chief priests all that had
happened, failed to receive the Easter joy. Why? It is because they allowed
themselves to be used by the evil machinations of lies and falsehood.
They decided to be agents of untruthfulness for the sake of money offered
them. Easter people worship the Lord and not anything else.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2024