Little Laila was taught that God creates everyone and also leads everyone back to Godself after death. So, she prayed: “Dear God, instead of letting people die and having to make new ones, why don’t you just keep the ones you got now?” Laila’s prayer may never be answered; but, Easter does assure us that life, not death, is what we’re created for.
The Easter season — beginning with Easter Sunday — is a 40-day period to reflect upon the risen Christ’s apparitions to his disciples. The resurrection narratives connected with three of these disciples — Thomas, Mary Magdalene and Peter — teach us the profound meaning of Easter.
Thomas is often called “doubting Thomas”. Thomas can be considered the prototype of intelligent believers who require some tangible testimony or reasonable proof to ground their faith. After seeing the crucified-risen Jesus, Thomas exclaims: “My Lord! My God!” asserting the fact that his Lord had, indeed, risen. Thomas is a model of faith, the gyan-marga, the path of knowledge.
Mary Magdalene is one of the most maligned of Jesus’ disciples within the Christian community, and without. Mary Magdalene is not the sinner who repented, but is one who followed Jesus as shishya, disciple. When all the male disciples forsook Jesus and fled at his passion, Mary Magdalene alone — along with Mary, Jesus’ mother — was planted herself at the foot of his cross.
After Jesus’ death, Mary harbours hope in her heart and proceeds to anoint the entombed body of Jesus. She is rewarded with a darshan, an encounter with the crucified-risen Jesus. She proclaims to the other disciples: “I have seen the Lord!” Mary thus becomes a beacon of hope, an epitome of the bhakti-marga, the path of devotion.
Peter, the numero uno among disciples, denies Jesus during his passion and swears that he does not know him. But, after Jesus’ resurrection, Peter repents and meets his crucified-risen Guru. When Jesus asks Peter thrice: “Do you love me?” he responds, “Yes, Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus then commissions him to go out and serve the newborn church. Peter can be considered as representative of the karma-marga, the path of action.
Jesus’ resurrection shows us that truth can be entombed, but can never stay buried. Truth prevails, and life destroys death. Apostle Thomas teaches us how to interrogate the basis of our faith. Mary Magdalene shows by example how one must never lose hope. Peter inspires us to love God and all God’s people.
Like Laila, we may continue to wishfully think that death can be done away with; it cannot. But Thomas, Mary Magdalene and Peter teach us to move beyond the grave with faith-hope-love. That’s what truly matters.
Francis Gonsalves is a professor of theology. He can be contacted at fragons@gmail.com
