Footsteps Toward an Open Tomb

Footsteps Toward an Open Tomb

Reflection on John 20:1a and 2-8

John 20:1a and 2–8 brings us to the quiet yet powerful dawn of Easter faith. It begins simply: “On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark.” Darkness still covered the world, but love was already moving. Mary comes not with answers, but with devotion. She comes to a tomb she believes holds death, yet her steps unknowingly lead her toward life.

Mary sees that the stone has been removed. Confused and shaken, she runs to Peter and the beloved disciple. Her first response is not celebration but concern: “They have taken the Lord from the tomb.” This reaction is deeply human. Even in moments touched by God, we often interpret events through fear and loss. Resurrection is not immediately recognized; it must be discovered.

Peter and the other disciple run to the tomb. Their running speaks of urgency, longing, and love. Faith is not passive here—it moves, searches, and risks disappointment. The beloved disciple arrives first but waits. Peter enters the tomb, seeing the burial cloths lying there. Then the other disciple enters, “and he saw and believed.”

This belief is remarkable. Jesus has not yet appeared. No angels speak. No explanation is given. What convinces the disciple is absence—the empty tomb, the orderly cloths, the quiet sign that death no longer holds the final word. Faith is born not from full understanding, but from attentive seeing.

This Gospel reminds us that faith often begins in uncertainty. Mary, Peter, and the beloved disciple are all at different stages: confusion, searching, dawning belief. God meets each of them where they are. The Resurrection does not erase struggle instantly; it transforms it slowly into hope.

The beloved disciple “saw and believed” without seeing the risen Christ. This is the faith many of us live. We do not see with our eyes, yet we are invited to trust the signs God places before us: moments of grace, quiet peace after sorrow, strength that arrives unexplainably, love that persists beyond loss. The empty tomb teaches us that God is already at work even while it is still dark.

For Roman Catholics, this passage calls us to run toward Christ, even with unanswered questions. It asks us to enter the empty spaces of our lives—the griefs, doubts, and waiting seasons—and to believe that God has gone ahead of us. Resurrection faith does not deny suffering; it declares that suffering does not have the last word.

The stone is rolled away not only from Christ’s tomb, but from our hearts. We are invited to see, to trust, and to believe that new life is possible, even if we do not yet fully understand how.

Key Takeaway:
True faith begins by trusting God’s presence and promise, even before clarity and certainty arrive.

Closing Prayer:
Risen Lord,
You meet us in our searching and in our doubts.
Open our eyes to see the signs of Your life at work around us.
Give us the grace to believe even before we fully understand,
and the courage to run toward You with hopeful hearts.
Roll away the stones that block our trust
and lead us from darkness into Your light.
Amen.