Joseph of Arimathaea was a very wealthy Pharisee, a member of the Council, and a secret follower of Jesus. It was Joseph who went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body after the crucifixion. And it was Joseph who supplied the tomb for Jesus’ burial.
I wonder if someone pulled him aside and said, “Joseph that was such a beautiful, costly, hand-hewn tomb. Why on earth did you give it to someone to be buried in?” “Why not?” Joseph may have answered. “He only needed it for the weekend.”
Easter is the greatest and the most important feast in the Church for three reasons:
1) The Resurrection of Christ is the basis of our Christian Faith. It is the greatest of the miracles, for it proves that Jesus is God. That is why St. Paul writes:
“If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain; and your Faith is in vain” (I Cor 15:14).
“Jesus is Lord, He is risen!” (Rom 10:9), was the central theme of the kerygma (or “preaching”), of the apostles, because Jesus had prophesied His Resurrection as a sign of His Divinity: The founder of no other religion has an empty tomb as Jesus has.
2) Easter is the guarantee of our own resurrection. Jesus assured Martha at the tomb of Lazarus:
“I am the Resurrection and the life; whoever believes in Me will live even though he dies” (Jn 11:25-26).
3) Easter is a feast which gives us hope and encouragement in this world of pain, sorrows, and tears. It reminds us that life is worth living. It is our belief in the Real Presence of the Risen Jesus in our souls, in His Church, in the Blessed Sacrament and in Heaven that gives meaning to our personal as well as our communal prayer, strength to fight against temptations, and freedom from unnecessary worries and fears.
Submitted by Fr. Joseph Dovari