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Fr. Raymund Benedict "RB" Hizon, SJ

<p>Acts 10:34a, 37–43 </p><p>Psalm 118 </p><p>1 Corinthians 5:6b–8 </p><p>John 20:1–9 </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>The Rush of Excitement </strong></div><p>Think back for a moment: When was the last time you ran? I don’t mean running for office or running to catch a bus, or running on a treadmill for exercise, or rushing through the office because you’re late for a meeting. I mean, when was the last time you ran because you simply could not wait to get to where you were going? </p><p>Maybe it was running through an airport arrival gate because someone you love is coming after years apart. Maybe it was sprinting across a roombecause a child was about to take their first steps and you didn&#x27;t want to miss it. Maybe it was that frantic, joyful dash to tell someone, &quot;We did it! We won!&quot; or &quot;It’s a boy!&quot; We run when the news is too big for a slow walk. We rush when our hearts are moving faster than our feet.  </p><p>That is the energy of Easter morning. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Running at Easter Morning </strong></div><p>The first Easter was not a quiet, slow-motion event. It was a mad dash. </p><p>It begins in the dark with Mary Magdalene. She sees the stone moved and she doesn&#x27;t walk; she runs to find Peter and the &quot;other disciple.&quot; Her news sets off a chain reaction of movement. Then we see the two men, Peter and John, caught up in a breathless, competitive race to the tomb (John 20:1-4).  </p><p>The Gospel even notes the physical detail of the sprint: the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first! </p><p>Imagine their hearts pounding—not just from the physical strain, but from the staggering possibility of the Good News. They weren&#x27;t just curious; they were driven by a holy excitement and impatience to see for themselves. They were running because, if the tomb was empty, then every wall death had ever built was being torn down in real-time. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>The Empty Tomb </strong></div><p>When they finally burst into the tomb, they find it “empty” but also found a “presence in absence.&quot; It wasn&#x27;t just that the body was gone; it was how the space looked. The Gospel slows down to show us the details: the burial cloths were not tossed aside in a struggle. The cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was not with the linen cloths but was rolled up in a separate place by itself (John 20:7). </p><p>The empty tomb and the burial cloths within formthe sign of Resurrection. This was not a &quot;resuscitation&quot;—it wasn&#x27;t a grave robbery where thieves leave a mess in their haste. It wasn&#x27;t a dead man coming back to his old life only to die again like Lazarus. This was a total transformation. Jesus didn&#x27;t just wake up; he overcame death entirely.  </p><p>There was no decay, no corruption—only the freshness of a new life so organized and powerful that even the burial cloths were left in perfect order. The &quot;other disciple&quot; saw this—the absence of decay and the presence of divine order—and he &quot;saw and believed&quot; (John 20:8). </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>The Call to Wage Peace </strong></div><p>But this new life demands a new way of living. As we celebrate this victory over death, we cannot ignore the prophetic echoes of Pope Leo’s powerful words from these last few days. He has issued a stinging challenge to our world: &quot;Lay down your weapons.&quot;  </p><p>Just as the Holy Father personally carried the cross through the Colosseum this past Friday, he asks us now to carry the burden of peace. He has challenged us to an &quot;unarmed and disarming&quot; peace—one that starts not with treaties, but by disarming our own hearts and words. The Holy Father reminds us that &quot;God will not heed our prayers when we wage war&quot; against one another. </p><p>If we run to the tomb today only to return to our &quot;weapons&quot;—our grudges, our violence, or our indifference—then we have missed the point of the Resurrection. The empty tomb proclaims that life, not death, has the final word. If we believe in a God who defeated the decay of the grave, we must be a people who refuse to contribute to the decay of the world. Our &quot;Easter Rush&quot; must become a rush toward peace. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>The Profession of Faith </strong></div><p>For most of us Filipinos, our own &quot;Easter race&quot; began when we were too small to run. As infants, we were carried to the baptismal font by parents and godparents who made promises on our behalf. They planted a seed of this &quot;New Life,&quot; hoping we would one day claim it. </p><p>Every Easter Sunday, we are given the magnificent chance to own that race. As we grow older, wiser, and deeper in our faith—as we face our own &quot;tombs&quot; of grief or failure—we move from an inherited faith to a personal commitment. We speak from borrowed voices to eventually speak on out own. </p><p>When we stand today to renew our baptismal promises, we are choosing to &quot;lay down our weapons&quot;—to renounce the &quot;decay&quot; of sin and the &quot;old yeast&quot; of malice (1 Cor 5:7-8). We are saying: &quot;I have seen the empty tomb for myself. I choose this life to live. This is no longer just my parents&#x27; faith or the faith tradition of my elders; this faith is mine. I profess it.&quot; Every year, we pass this living fire to the next generation not only by the words we say but by the manner of our living. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Running Towards Life </strong></div><p>The stone was not rolled away to let Jesus out; He was already gone. The stone was rolled away to let us in—to see that death and decay no longer have the final word. </p><p>As we are sprinkled with holy water today, let us reclaim the exhilaration of that first morning. Let us go forth from our churches with that same &quot;Easter Rush,&quot; running away from the culture of death and toward those who need hope, carrying a Life that is finally, fully, our own for the life of the world. </p><p>Christ is risen! He is truly risen! </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Questions for Reflection </strong></div><p>Reflecting on the &quot;mad dash&quot; of Peter and John—what are you running toward today? Is your heart currently moved by the &quot;holy excitement and impatience&quot; to find the Lord in your life, or have you become stationary, standing still in old habits and old fears? </p><p>The disciples believed because they saw the &quot;order&quot; of the folded burial cloths and the total absence of decay. In the &quot;messy&quot; parts of your life where things feel chaotic or dead, can you see the small, orderly signs of God already working to bring forth a new creation? </p><p>Today you renewed the promises first made for you as an infant. As you grow &quot;older and wiser,&quot; what specific &quot;weapon&quot;—a grudge, a prejudice, or a selfish habit—is God calling you to lay down right now so that your faith becomes a personal profession rather than just a family tradition?</p>

<p>The first Easter was not a quiet, slow-motion event. It was a mad dash. </p>

A Word on the Word: Homily of Easter Sunday

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A Word on the Word: Homily of Easter Sunday

Fr. Raymund Benedict "RB" Hizon,

SJ

Published April 05, 2026 07:44 AM PHT

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