Most Pitiable of All
“He is not here! He is risen as He promised.” John 20:1-9/Mark 16:1-7/Luke 24:13-35
Easter Sunday
Would you believe in someone who does not fulfill his promise? Or someone who deceives you with persistent lying? Of course not.
St. Paul writes that “if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then we are the most pitiable of peoples.” 1 Cor.15:14 Why so? It is because that would make Jesus the biggest liar. When He was alive he had always told His followers that He would die but rise again after three days. If He did not fulfill such promise the He could not be trusted in whatever else He has taught us. If such is the case then He is not God at all!
There was once an archaeologist who went to the parish priest before the Easter vigil bringing with him the dead body of someone he claimed to be Jesus.
The priest could believe what he saw but the body had all the wounds of Jesus. And so He told the people gathered in the church that night to go home for there would be no Easter celebration because Jesus has always been dead. Then he showed them the dead body brought by the archaeologist. People were also disappointed at what they saw. “Jesus has not risen after all. We were all the while fooled.” they thought.
The church had been closed. People stopped believing and started misbehaving because Jesus was dead. Crimes like stealing, robbing and even murder became rampant. It was not anymore safe for anyone to go out of his house especially at night.
One day as the archaeologist was returning home he was stabbed by youngsters who also robbed him. Fortunately, as he laid on the street dying the former parish priest chanced upon him. Before he expired he confessed that the dead body that he brought to him was a hoax. He placed the wounds on it to find out what would happen to people if Jesus did not rise from the dead. He realized rather late that it was terrible.
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