Entering the Tomb
“[The disciple whom Jesus loved entered the tomb.] He saw and believed.”
Jn. 20:8
In the Easter morning Gospel (Jn. 20:1-9), we encounter the empty tomb. Peter and John (the disciple Jesus loved) rush to the tomb and discover it is empty. As John enters the tomb, we are told, “he saw and believed” (Jn. 20:8). What is happening here?
“In itself, [an empty tomb] is not a direct proof of Resurrection; the absence of Christ’s body from the tomb could be explained otherwise” (Catechism of the Catholic Church #640). Yet, for John, it is enough. In that moment of seeing, John’s heart pulls together everything he knows about Jesus, about God, and about reality. It is a moment of....