The rock appeared drab and gray, indistinquisable from a thousand others. But then my teacher turned on an ultraviolet light. Immediately, that boring rock burst into vivid technicolor.Blues, greens yellows, and oranges shone forth. It contained a class of minerals that become luminous under UV lighting. Without the aid of those special rays however, you'd walk by this rock without a second thought.
This morning, the whole world gazes upon a gray chunk of rock. Under normal lighting, it's just a rough cavity in the ground--a sheer vacancy- -with a stone lid rolled to the side. There's not much to see, and UV rays won't help here. But some who ponder this rugged cavity leave fundamentally changed, as if this rocky tomb burned with the light of heaven.
And indeed it does. In the darkness of Easter night, Jesus Christ flipped the switch from death to life and changed this cavern of despair into the only source of real hope. John, seeing the scene lit by the vivid light of faith saw, and believed, and it was as if color shone forth in a gray world.
Now, even when we disciples of Jesus falter in our proclamation of the Gospel God has enlisted the roughest matter to proclaim his glory. As Jesus propheseised, I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out ! ( Lk 19:40) On Easter morning, we hear that cry of joy.
Reflection based on John 20:1-9
Father Philip Nolan O.P.
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