The Gospel today gives us two reactions to the resurrection.
Joy and denial.
The women run from the tomb. We are told they leave “with fear and great joy.” That is important. Not calm. Not measured. Something has happened that is too big to take in all at once.
And then they meet Christ.
Not an idea. Not a message. A person.
“He said, ‘Greetings.’ And they came up and took hold of his feet.”
They touch Him. This is not imagination. Not wishful thinking. The resurrection is physical. Real.
And Christ says something very simple: “Do not be afraid.”
Because that is the first reaction to something beyond us. Fear. And Christ replaces it with peace.
Now look at the other reaction.
The guards go to the chief priests and report what has happened.
And the response is immediate.
They pay them.
They give them a story.
“His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.”
Notice what is happening.
The evidence is there.
The tomb is empty.
But instead of following the truth, they construct an explanation that allows them to avoid it.
And that has not changed.
There are still two ways of responding to the resurrection.
You either follow where the evidence leads.
Or you explain it away.
Think of something simple.
If you come home and find the door open, the lights on, and everything moved — you do not say, “Nothing has happened.” You look for the cause.
But if you do not like the conclusion, you start inventing alternatives.
That is what happens here.
The story they give is not even strong.
If the guards were asleep, how do they know what happened?
If the body was stolen, why leave the cloths behind?
If the disciples were afraid and hiding, how do they suddenly become bold enough to steal a guarded body?
The explanation is weak.
But it is convenient.
And that is the key.
The problem is not lack of evidence.
The problem is resistance to what the evidence means.
St Peter, in the first reading, stands up and says it plainly:
“This Jesus… you crucified… God raised up.”
He does not soften it. He does not adjust it. He states it.
And that is the beginning of the Church.
Not an idea. A proclamation. Christ is risen.
And that claim forces a response.
Because if it is true, then everything else changes.
If Christ is risen, then death is not the end.
If Christ is risen, then sin is not final.
If Christ is risen, then we do not belong to ourselves.
And that is why people resist it.
Not because it is unclear. But because it is demanding.
The women accept it.
And what happens?
They run.
They go.
They carry the message.
The guards reject it.
And what happens?
They stay where they are.
They are paid to keep quiet.
To hold the lie in place. And that is still the choice.
To follow the truth and let it change you.
Or to hold onto what is comfortable and explain the truth away.
And here is the important point.
You cannot stay neutral.
The resurrection does not allow it.
Either Christ is risen, or He is not.
And if He is risen,
then His word is true,
His Church speaks with His authority,
and His call on our lives is real.
So the question is simple.
Do we respond like the women?
Go. Follow. Hold on to Christ.
Or do we respond like the guards?
Stay. Explain. Keep things as they are.
Because the resurrection is not just something to believe in theory.
It is something that demands a decision.
Christ stands before us, just as He stood before them.
Not as an idea. But as the risen Lord.
And He says the same thing:
Do not be afraid.
And then: Go. Follow. Live as though this is true.
Because it is.
St. Mary's, St. John Bosco and St. Edward's 