“THE SEARCH FOR GOD” IN THE EMPTY TOMB
We remember Jesus’ words to Martha:
“I am the resurrection and the life… and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25–26)
On Easter Sunday, the tomb is open. We’ve heard the Angel’s voice: “Christ has risen! He is not here!” We ran with our Scout uniforms to the tomb — and once saw no life, no hope, no ambition. Now, we see light. Christ is risen — and we salute. For there is a ray of hope.
“God is life, life alone, and we are his glory: the living man. Why do we think that everything is hopeless, that no one can take away our own tombstones? Easter is the feast of tombstones taken away; rocks rolled aside. God takes away even the hardest stones against which our hopes and expectations crash: death, sin, fear, worldliness.” — Pope Francis, Homily, April 2019
Easter is not the time to give in to fear, but the feast of life and hope — something we must share with the world.
Our relationship with the Risen Lord is very important. The Risen Christ is the backbone of who we are (Christians) and what we do (witnessing). From now on, we need not look for Him in the tomb, but in every single person — especially in the poor of the Gospel.
In this Jubilee year, Pope Francis invites us to be “signs of hope.” I would rather say: “servants of hope.”
Our Easter commitment as Scouts is to bring that ray of hope to the most disadvantaged — the poor, the vulnerable, the desperate — all those who suffer from a lack of dignity and human rights, food, housing, or shelter.
For a Scout, life is a gift. We have all received a measure of grace — talents, qualities, personality, and character. We all have something beautiful, great, and worthy to give. And as Scouts, we do give.
To paraphrase a Danish proverb: “What you are is God’s gift to you; what you do with yourself is your gift to God — to the Risen Lord.”
Because life is a gift, we can give WHO we are, and WHAT we have, to create a better world, full of life and hope.
What is your Easter gift to the world around you?
In the way you live and relate to others, how can you be a reflection and servant of hope of the Risen Christ?
“Christ is alive and He wants you to be alive.” — St John Paul II
Fr Jean Pascal DIAME, Spiritan Missionary, England