A sower went out to sow....

The empty tomb was embarrassing for the Jewish authorities. Rumors were flying throughout Jerusalem: the seal of the tomb had been broken, the body was missing, the soldiers confessed that they slept.

Today’s Gospel reflects a well-known reality: whoever encounters Christ cannot remain neutral. He is, as Simeon predicted, “a sign of contradiction.” Even after His death and resurrection Jesus continued to draw contrasting reactions to his persons. There were those who were overjoyed to encounter him and ready to bring the good news of his resurrection to others, and those who refused to believe in spite of the strong evidence; they twisted the truth with a ridiculous alibi.

The story did not end where today’s Gospel ends. Even today, there are countless faithful all over the world who accept Jesus and believe in His resurrection. But there is also an increasing number even of Christians, who do not believe in the resurrection anymore. They had not been there record the event. Actually nobody had witnessed the event, they say. For their scientific mind it is nothing but a fairy tale for children.

Yes, encountering Christ nobody can remain neutral. We have to make a clear decision – for Christ or against Him; deal or no deal! And those who try to play safe by taking no clear position are hit by the words of the Risen Lord, “I wish that you were either hot or cold. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Rev 3:16).

What does it mean to make a decision for Christ, based on faith in his resurrection? It means that we must become transformed, changed people, like the apostles. We remember St. Paul who persecuted the Church. After his encounter with the risen Lord near Damascus he became the most courageous witness of Christ. Our decision for Christ should make us such witnesses, unafraid of what others might say. Not an easy task. Yes, in this world it is so hard to live the Resurrection spirituality since the triumph of good seems to be short-lived, always interrupted, it seems, by the works of evil. Precisely, this is the reason why we also keep celebrating Easter year after year. With the Easter memory renewed in us each year, may we never succumb to evil, pessimism, and negativity