Number one

Saint Mary Magdalene was the first to spread the news of Christ’s resurrection.

Saint John was the disciple whom Jesus loved.

Saint Peter was the rock upon whom Christ said he would build his Church.

These are the three people in today’s Easter Gospel (John 20:1-9): each of them were very different, yet each of them had a critical role in proclaiming the resurrection of Christ.

Different groups in subsequent generations would try to distort who these people were and even twist their relationship with Christ in sometimes sordid ways.

Peter, John and Mary would have thought all of this extremely silly: not only because none of it was true, but most especially because they knew that they themselves were relatively unimportant.

What was important, what is important now and important in eternity is Christ Jesus, crucified and risen.

Christ was number one – the first born of all – eternally begotten of the Father.

They knew, they saw, they felt the power of his resurrection from the dead.

This is what we proclaim to you:
what was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we have looked upon,
and our hands have touched

-- we speak of the word of life.
(1 John 1:1)

For each of them, the most important thing, the driving force of their lives from that Sunday morning onward, was manifesting that resurrection and its power in every part of their lives.

They were three different people, but they all had one Lord, one Savior, one mission – to proclaim the resurrection of Christ as he himself called them to.

So also in our lives, we can sometimes get caught up in many issues, controversies and concerns. We can get caught in struggles for dominance and autonomy – with individuals and groups arguing about who is more important than the other.

The message of this Easter morning – the message of Peter, John, and Mary – is that nothing is more important than living and proclaiming the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

It is a message that we desperately need in the world today.

It is a message to which the world needs us to be faithful: the unvarnished truth of the Lord and Savior who conquers sin and death and gives eternal life.

You and I - together with Peter, John and Mary - are among th billions called to be faithful to this message and to proclaim it - no matter who we are.

Christ is risen.

Tell the world.