“If there is no Resurrection from the dead, then Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain.” (1 Cor 15:13-15)
The Resurrection of Jesus is central to our faith. In the Book of the Apocalypse he says to John: “I am the first and the last and the living one. I was dead, and see: I am alive forever and ever.” (Apoc. 1:17-18)
The message of Christ risen from the dead was at the core of Peter’s preaching to Cornelius. He testified to having eaten and drunk with him after his resurrection. Peter was a key witness, since he entered the empty tomb and saw the grave cloths neatly folded. This was a clear indication that the body had not been stolen (as the soldiers reported in Matt. 28:11-16), since thieves would not have removed the wrappings. In any case they would not have been able to, with the amount of ointment that had been used, as they would have stuck fast to the body.
However, it was not Peter or the beloved disciple who first beheld the Risen Lord but a woman, Mary of Magdala, who had stood at the cross as he suffered and died. Her witness would not have been credible at that time but God chose her to be the first to speak to the one she loved and to receive his command to be apostle to the apostles. In a world that is deeply troubled we have to remember that through Christ’s victory on the cross, there is a world of hope beyond our imaginings.
“Christ, my hope, has risen." (from the sequence of Easter Sunday)