Happy Easter! Christ is risen…He is risen indeed! Since on Easter, Jesus rose from the dead and was seen by witnesses, and we decorate our church and often homes with bright colors and flowers, I thought I’d share a visual image for you to pray with and enjoy.This 1898 painting by Eugene Burnand is titled “Peter and John Running to the Tomb”. In my humble opinion it is the most moving piece of art regarding Easter Sunday. I have a print above our rectory fireplace, and every Easter morning it gives me great joy, so I share with you. The painting captures the original Easter Sunday morning featuring Peter and John as they run to the tomb after the news is given by Mary Magdalene that the Lord’s body is missing in the tomb. Peter in the painting looks older with gray in his hair and you can see he looks like a rough fisherman. John is beside him looking much more youthful. They look like they are just in the moment of arrival at the tomb. Their hair is windblown from the fast run.
But looking deeper, the outward reveals the inward. Peter’s heart is heavy—after all, he had just denied Jesus three times only a couple days earlier. Peter is burdened by guilt and his grief over the death of Jesus. Therefore, Peter is painted in heavy, dark color—deep red and blue. John on the other hand did not deny Jesus, but stayed at his side at the cross. John is painted wearing the color white—he looks light, as his heart was much lighter, and his hands are folded in prayer, his face furrowed in prayer. Peter’s face and hands are even more expressive. One hand covers his heart while the other hand has a finger pointing downward in almost unbelief. Yet his eyes are wide open. Maybe something, the grace of God, is beginning to open his heart and mind at that very moment to the new reality that Jesus is indeed risen from the dead.
Which do you feel like at this time? Peter or John? Is your heart heavy or light? Can God change everything in an instant? Will we let God’s grace open our hearts and minds with new vision and new life? Jesus is risen, and that is a fact even right now at this moment. I pray we all experience the power of the Resurrection in whatever is weighing down our hearts. May God bless you all with new life and the Easter joy that conquers even the ancient power of death.
Peace,
Fr. Greg