Reflection for April 5 Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord: John 20:1-9

Gospel: John 20:1-9

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him."   

So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. 

Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.  For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.

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Reflection:

How does today’s Gospel reading about the Resurrection of Christ speak to us? Does it awaken within us a deeper sense of hope, renewal, and new life?

This Gospel of the Resurrection is not only about Jesus—it is also about us. It invites us to experience our own rising, our own victory over sin and brokenness. In the light of the Risen Lord, we are reminded that no darkness within us is beyond His power to transform.

From our sinful ways, we are now called to strive for lives that are holy, grace-filled, and meaningful. Each sincere effort we make to turn away from sin becomes a quiet yet powerful testimony that Jesus is truly alive within us. His Resurrection is not just an event to remember—it is a life we are invited to live.

As a community of believers, we are called to align our lives with the will of the Risen Christ. This means choosing, day by day, to let go of anything that leads us away from God and embracing a life rooted in Him rather than in the fleeting things of this world. It means allowing His Resurrection to take root in our hearts, so that everything within us that is sinful and broken may be overcome by His grace.

We may fall many times—we may “die” a thousand times in our sins—but each moment of repentance is also a moment of rising again. Every step we take away from sin and toward the Lord is already a participation in His Resurrection.

And so, as we reflect on this great mystery of our faith, let us ask ourselves: if Christ is truly risen and alive within us, can others see His life in the way we think, speak, and act? Are we truly leaving behind our old ways, or are we still holding on to what keeps us from fully rising with Him?—Marino J. Dasmarinas