Easter as a healing space and a moral imperative (Isaiah 25,1-9; Matthew 28,1-10)

'For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat.’ As we can see, Easter is also a moral imperative. There is a collective dimension of the Resurrection. Ethically wrong ways died; and now they have to be resurrected as good practices.
 
‘And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces.’ (Isaiah 25,6-8) Easter is also a time for healing and renewal. We must imitate these divine gestures of nourishing and compassion. This is the only way − via a holy mimesis − through which our world can become a better place.
 
Matthew’s account of the Resurrection amplifies further the above two messages. This description is the most beautiful and healing scene in the Gospels. ‘And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord ay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and behold he goeth before you in Galilee; there shall ye see him…And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee and there shall they see me.’ (Matthew 28,5-10)
 
This encounter is the experience of all healing. Even more, this scene is the ‘centre of our world’, the axis mundi. Having found it as our ultimate reference, the world regains its lost and distorted shapes. Our world, with its wounds, needs to be melted into this joyful encounter! Just as the women sent by Jesus, we return to the world as its healers! That is a good definition of being a Christian!