Recognizing The Risen Christ

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The Sunday of the Resurrection: Easter Day

Today's Readings:
[ Jer 31:1-6; Ps 118:1-2, 14-24; Acts 10:34-43; Jn 20:1-18 ]

“He is not here, but has risen” (Luke 24:6)

In today's reading from the Gospel according to John, Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb while it is still dark. That detail matters. Resurrection does not begin in bright certainty, but in confusion, grief, and unanswered questions. The stone is rolled away, but understanding has not yet dawned. She weeps. She searches. She does not yet recognize the risen Christ, even when He stands before her.

From a Franciscan perspective, this is deeply fitting. God does not wait for perfect clarity or polished faith. Instead, He meets us in our poverty—our not-knowing, our grief, our longing. Like St. Francis embracing the leper, Mary encounters the risen Christ precisely in the place she would least expect: in the midst of loss and pain.

It is only when Jesus calls her by name—“Mary!”—that everything changes. Resurrection becomes personal. The victory over death is not abstract; it is relational. The Good Shepherd knows His sheep, and they know His voice. In that moment, darkness gives way to recognition, and grief turns into mission: “Go to my brothers and say to them…”.

Psalm 118 declares, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it”. Not because everything is immediately clear, but because God has acted decisively in Christ. As Peter proclaims in Acts, “God raised him on the third day”, and that changes everything, not just for a select few, but for all.

Jeremiah’s promise echoes here too: “Again you shall plant vineyards… you shall enjoy the fruit”. Resurrection is not only about life after death, it is about restored life now. Hope takes root again. Joy becomes possible again.

Easter, then, is not a denial of suffering but its transformation. As later seen, the wounds of Good Friday remain, but they are no longer the end of the story.

And so we are invited, like Mary, to listen for our name—to recognize Christ in the ordinary, in the broken, in the unexpected. The risen Lord stands before us even now.

Alleluia. He is risen indeed.

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