03/29/2024
On this Good Friday, we are sharing a copy of the 74th Annual Easter Sunrise Memorial Service delivered in 2004 at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. Sir Knight Thomas G. Keithly, Right Eminent Past Grand Prelate, delivered the messages which was later published in the Knight Templar magazine.
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On the first day of the week, the Sunday after that Friday we Christians call "Good," Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome were discussing who would roll away the heavy stone door from the entrance to the tomb for them. When they found it already opened, they were surprised by an angel, who told them, "He has risen! He is not here." The horror of Good Friday was erased, as the message of eternal hope was given.
After the women's encounter with the angel, Mark adds, "And they went out and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid." Curiously, in the earliest and most reliable manuscripts, St. Mark's account stops there! Some added verses appear in the later versions, which most biblical scholars reject as late additions. Obviously those of us of the Christian Faith want to hear - and tell - "the rest of the story."
And that is precisely the point: the power of Easter, and therefore of the Gospel itself, is not in the finding of an empty tomb. The timid silence of the women in St. Mark's telling of it accomplished nothing. The power of Easter lies in the personal encounters with the risen Lord. The angel had added to his message, "But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee, there you will see him, as he told you."
It is in those encounters - on the road to Emmaus, in the upper room in Galilee - and continuing down through history to our own time and place, that lives are wonderfully transformed, that sinners are forgiven, the broken are healed, the fallen are redeemed. The literal meaning of the word "gospel" is "Good News!" It may be old news to many, but it not news at all if it is not proclaimed. To those who do not encounter Jesus Christ in their own lives, it is old news, and therefore stale news. To those who meet the living Lord in their daily lives, it is always fresh news, and is always being proclaimed.
If we open our eyes to the philosophy being proclaimed to our society today, we see that the message is, "Seek pleasure and wealth." This has become the national pastime - (dare I say it?) the national religion - and major occupation of our culture. It is all around us; in the media, in the news, in advertising, in television programming, and in the cinema. We must remember that the Gospel admonishes us to not be conformed to this world, but be transformed.
We are transformed by our own encounters with the risen Lord. Recognizing Him in the "breaking of bread" arouses in us the impulse to share with others the truth of His Resurrection. Hearing His voice, as the Word is proclaimed, dispels all doubt about the goodness and mercy of God. Being baptized into His death brings us promise of our resurrection into His risen life. Encountering Him in the Living Community brings membership in His Body, the Church.
Individuals and congregations who only find an empty tomb are doomed to a slow death as they are buried in their silence and timidity. Those who meet the Risen Lord and become part of his Living Body are inheritors of eternal life. Let the traditional Easter cry go out: "Alleluia! Christ is risen!" And let the reply be: "The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia."
