Gospel in Art: Easter Sunday

Resurrection of Christ, by Domenico Ghirlandaio, painted between 1490 and 1495 © Staatliche Museen, Berlin

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 31 March 2024
Mark 16:1-8

When the sabbath was over, Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices with which to go and anoint him. And very early in the morning on the first day of the week they went to the tomb, just as the sun was rising.

They had been saying to one another, 'Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?' But when they looked they could see that the stone - which was very big - had already been rolled back. On entering the tomb they saw a young man in a white robe seated on the right-hand side, and they were struck with amazement. But he said to them, 'There is no need for alarm. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified: he has risen, he is not here. See, here is the place where they laid him. But you must go and tell his disciples and Peter, "He is going before you to Galilee; it is there you will see him, just as he told you."

Reflection on the painting

The Lord is risen, Alleluia, Alleluia!

The risen Lord is a Lord full of surprises. He surprised the women on that first Easter morning. As the women set about their work of mercy to visit the tomb, there was one obstacle in their way that they were concerned about, the large stone that had been rolled against the entrance of Jesus' tomb. We read in today's Gospel reading that they asked each other anxiously, 'Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?' It was a perfectly understandable concern. Yet, what the women worried about on the way was taken care of when they arrived.

When they arrived at the tomb, they discovered that the stone had been rolled back. As we seek to engage in our own works of mercy, as we try to respond to the risen Lord's call to love one another as he has loved us, we too will often be aware of what seem like insurmountable obstacles in our lives. We delay getting involved or engaged as we feel that first some 'unsurmountable obstacles' need to be taken care of first, before we engage ourselves fully in our faith. We can find ourselves asking a version of the question, 'Who will roll away the stone for me?' Well, today, on Easter Sunday, we get the answer: that stone will be taken care of for us... as long as we keep running towards Jesus.

The Resurrection of Christ by Ghirlandaio, painted circa 1490, shows Jesus Christ on Easter morning, coming out of his tomb, to the complete astonishment of the four Roman soldiers charged with guarding his sepulture. Ghirlandaio took great liberties with Scripture: Christ's tomb was set in a cave and not in the open air as depicted here; and it was certainly not inscribed with the acronym "I.N.R.I." (Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews); there is no stone to roll, but yet the tombstone is removed and nowhere to be seen in this painting;. On the tomb we see a carved pelican who feeds her children with her blood, a symbol for Christ giving his own blood to each of us. It is a theatrical composition, conveying the dramatic events of the day. In the landscape, on the left side, we see the three Marys who will soon discover the empty tomb of Christ.

A very happy and blessed Easter Sunday to you all.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/mark-16-1-8-2024-2/
Competition: The Laudamus Award 2024 for Sacred Art - www.indcatholicnews.com/news/49310