There is no need for
alarm…Do not be afraid (Mark 16:1-7)
Messages from God are invariably introduced with an
encouragement to let go of all fear.
The sun is rising as the women are coming to the tomb in the
early morning after the Sabbath. They were over-due to anoint the dead body of
Jesus as it was forbidden over the Sabbath rest. Also, after a terrifying
experience for all Jesus’ friends and followers, many who ran away, they buried
his body in a borrowed tomb in haste. In a sense, they couldn’t wait for first
light on Sunday morning so they could do for him what they could in all
charity. The body would no doubt be in a
bad way after a brutal and savage scourging and a horrific execution by the
Romans – humiliation for the entire world to see. They have brought with them
herbs and spices to anoint the remains and fresh linen cloths because the
shroud he was put in would be soaked. All they were concerned about was who
would they get to roll away the large stone that was placed in front of the
tomb. Their broken hearts thumping, they turned the corner and drew near to the
tomb.
What greeted them was very strange. The stone had been rolled
back. Now this was no small boulder. This was a large heavy circular rock which
had been fashioned for the specific purpose of guarding the entrance to a
burial tomb. They hurried in and were greeted by a young man in white who said “There is no need for alarm, you are looking
for Jesus, who was crucified: he has risen, he is not here. See, here is the
place where they laid him. But you must go and tell his disciples and Peter,
“He is going before you to Galilee; it is there you will see him, just as he
told you."
There is no need for alarm. Do not be afraid. These are words
that have been ringing in my ears for a while now. As powerfully as the angel
inside the empty tomb, the ‘man in white’ challenges the women to let go of all
fear, we Christians are challenged by the fact that Jesus is alive to do the
same in our time. So what scares us? What scares me? What are the fears I must
let go of in order to be fully alive? Because have no doubt, fear locks up all
of us with a power stronger than jail doors, high walls and prison bars.
In our own community here in the city centre, we need to
shake off the shackles of the fears that imprison us in crime, in addiction, in
hatred, in racism, in rivalry, in trafficking, and in violence. Speaking at the
Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday in The Pro Cathedral the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr. Diarmuid Martin said; “How many are there who feel that our culture
offers them fulfilment and yet never seem to reach the happiness that they
seek. How many are frustrated into resorting to violence – just think of
the brutal murders on our streets? How many find themselves trapped into
a culture of empty consumerism, of drugs or even of morbid depravity?”
It’s no secret that we have an epidemic addiction problem in
this city and in Ireland. Many know the details far more than me. I’m not qualified to speak with any authority
on the horrors of addiction but these people, our sisters and brothers, are
buried in a tomb as dark and foreboding as Christ’s tomb was. This is the
vicious circle that has them tied up and restrained in bandages which are
almost impossible to undo. But all is
not lost. Even though things seemed all was lost and gone for the women of
Jerusalem and for the disciples of Jesus as he died on the cross, what was actually
happening was a new beginning. There is no need to be afraid – there is always
hope. I salute the members of NA, CA, AA, Soilse, and the SNUG counselling
service in our Parish. You all are bearers of the light in what can be seen as
a darkened tomb. The impossibly heavy rock will be thrown away.
When the women went to disciples, they all remembered what
Jesus had often said about his passion, death, and resurrection. They came to
faith in him and in his promises. They were fuelled by the power of the Holy
Spirit to go out and witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ and to preach
the Gospel to all nations. From day one there was ridicule and even hostility
to this new Christian movement. There were some who actively tried to oppose it
and some again who have done so from the inside. Men and women were martyred
because of their belief in Jesus Christ. Over and over again, across the
centuries, the church of Christ has stood in the shadow of the cross of
Christ.
In our time, I would argue there seems to be very little
appetite in Irish society for example, for the church, and by that I mean the
Bishops or church spokespeople, to explain Church teaching. The Archbishop of Armagh, Dr. Eamon Martin
also spoke at the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday in Armagh about the challenges
of being a Christian and holding Christian values in the Ireland of today; “Sometimes daring to witness openly to our
sincerely held Christian convictions can bring upon us ridicule, condemnation
or even persecution. I am thinking, for example, about our strong beliefs in
the sacredness of human life from the first moment of conception until the moment
of natural death; our Church’s understanding of marriage and the family; our
Catholic social teaching about the fair distribution of goods, care for
creation and concern for the weakest and most vulnerable.”
While I am aware that there can be over-zealous Catholic and Christian opinion out there, I wonder why
our church which is simply stating its time-honored, centuries-old teaching of
marriage being between a man and a woman, which is open to life, can be told to
more or less get out of the way. Like I said earlier, again, I am not eminently
qualified to speak as I am not married, but I feel I have some insights into it
since I spent the first 18 years of my life living with a mother and a father in a
family. And while I don’t live with them now, I am aware of their lives, and
their struggles, and their highs and their lows, and I love them just the same.
Many priests are married today in different places where the Church is and in
Dublin we have married Permanent Deacons who preside at weddings, celebrate
baptisms, and lead funeral liturgies, so that old argument of clergy not having
a clue will disappear too.
Meeting us with the words, ‘There is no need for alarm,’ We are
challenged by the ‘angel in white’ who sits in the tomb and announces that
Christ is not there. We are asked who are we looking for? Ultimately we all
seek Jesus. We want to be happy and he alone has the message of eternal life.
“I plead with you--never, ever give up on hope, never doubt,
never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid.”
“The future starts today, not tomorrow.” Pope St. John Paul II