We Race in Faith and Hope

HOMILY: Easter Sunday

John 20:1-9

17 April 2022

Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez, AA

One of my favourite movies in the 90’s is the comedy-drama film, Forrest Gump based on the 1986 novel of the same title. “Run, Forrest, Run!” All throughout the story, the lead character Forrest Gump overcomes his life adversity by simply running. As a little boy he wore leg braces but at a pivotal moment of his young life, the braces came off and he learned, not just to walk without them, but to run! All throughout his life, people who influenced him and made an impact in his life motivated him to run. When he was bullied in school and stoned by his peers, his only friend in school — Jenny, prompted him to run. As an adult he was drafted into the Vietnam war and he saved people’s lives by carrying them and running to safety. In the course of the story, Forrest recounts what his Mama used to tell him… “My Mama always said, you’ve got to put the past behind, before you can move on.” 

In the Easter narrative from John’s Gospel, there is also some running involved among the main characters of the Easter story. We are told that “Very early and still dark, Mary came to the tomb, upon seeing the tomb empty, she went running to Simon Peter and to the other disciples… Peter and the other disciple also ran together, the other ran faster…” (John 20:1-3) Three persons. All running, motivated differently.  Mary runs because she is fearful. She was afraid that someone had stolen the body of Jesus. We, too, tend to run when we are afraid. We run away from things that will cause us anxiety, grief, sadness, and negativity. Mahilig tayong umiwas. Nagpapakaduwag tayo. Magpapakalulon sa Netflix, sa video games, sa shopping, sa bisyo o kaya mangingibang bayan… lahat ng ito ay tanda ng pagtakas sa ating realidad ng buhay.  O minsan, gaya ni Mary, tumatakbo tayo sa taong agad na makakatulong o makapagbibigay ng kalutasan sa mga problema natin. 

The other disciple, who outruns Peter is unnamed but since he is referred to as “the one Jesus loved” we can safely assume this is John.  Why is he able to run faster?  Because unlike Peter, he did not have any guilt weighing him down. Throughout Jesus’ three-year ministry, Jesus has few disappointments in John. Sa katunayan, siya ay kinagiliwan ni Hesus. Sa pinakamasakit na kabanata ng buhay ni Kristo, hindi Siya iniwan ni Juan. John accompanied Jesus into the high priest’s chambers for his trial and even stood at the foot of the cross, in a show of loyalty, love, and support for his Master.  Panatag ang loob ng Panginoon kay Juan, kaya’t noong malapit na Siyang mamatay, inihabilin Niya kay Juan ang kanyang mahal na ina. I think that John, at his very core, did not doubt Jesus. He runs to see for himself the proof of Jesus’ declaration that He would rise from the dead. He runs in the hope that He will see his friend alive! He races and beats Peter to the tomb, and becomes the first believer in the resurrected Christ. Hindi ba, ganun naman tayo? We tend to run towards the persons we love so dearly whom we are excited to be with after not having seen them for a long time.

Conversely, we would not want to run towards people whom we have hurt or to whom we have done something wrong, am I right? Hindi ba’t pinagtataguan natin ang mga inutangan natin na di natin mabayaran? Ako, nung bata ako, nabasag ko yung vase ng terror teacher namin. Hindi talaga ako nagpakita sa kanya. I think this is why John was able to outrun Peter. Peter had some hesitation. Paano kung andun nga si Hesus na buhay? Paano niya ito mahaharap sa kabila ng kasalanan niya kay Kristo?  He was painfully aware that he had denied Jesus not once, not twice, but three times!  Ang masaklap, alam ni Hesus na ginawa niya iyon. Di na bale kung nagkakasala tayong walang nakakaalam, hindi ba? Pwede pa tayong magpatay malisya. Malas lang ni Pedro na bago pa nya nagawa ang pagtatatwa, alam na ni Hesus na mangyayari! Kaya doble pa ang kahihiyan niya kay Kristo. Throughout Jesus’ ordeal, Peter could only manage to go as far as the courtyard. And after he denied Jesus, he abandoned his friend and disappeared in shame. 

Ang maganda kay Pedro, tinuloy pa rin Niya ang pagtakbo papunta sa pinaglibingan kay Kristo. Inspite of himself, his embarassment, his fear and his hesitation, he ran to the tomb in the hope of finding Jesus. Alam naman natin na mabigat sa kalooban kung may daladala kang guilt, di ba? Kaya sa tingin ko, sabik na rin siyang mapagaan ang loob niya sa paghingi ng tawad kay Hesus.  Sana ganoon din tayo. Don’t let your sins and your mistakes keep you from moving forward in life. Sabi nga nung mama ni Forrest Gump, “Put the past behind…” The death and resurrection of Jesus are the very things that empower us to put our ugly, sinful past behind us. Jesus welcomes the penitent with open arms and gives us a future of renewed life in Him. We just have to find the courage to own up to our mistakes, run to Jesus and seek His forgiveness and allow the Risen Lord to lead us forward. 

One last thing, before we end. Did you notice that in the gospel, the three characters are not only running around but they are doing so in the dark? The setting of the story is that it was “very early and still dark” (John 20:1) Who runs in the dark?  Patatakbukhin mo ba ang anak mo sa dilim? Di ba kahit sino, takot madapa kasi di mo nakikita ang dinaraanan mo?  In his Easter sermon, a priest answered this question saying, “[Those who run in the dark are] people who have spent time with Jesus Christ. [These are] people with hope.” Ang taong umaasa kay Kristo ay may buong pagtitiwala sa Kanya. Hindi ba’t pagbuong- buo ang tiwala mo sa isang tao, susundin mo siya kasi alam mong di ka niya kailanman ipapahamak? These three characters had such a profound experience of Jesus that the faith Jesus sparked in their hearts was enough to light their way. 

This Easter, let us be like Peter. Despite all our failings and sinfulness, let us seek out the One who loves us unto our weakness. We are called to run towards the Truth who knows us through and through, and embraces us in our frailty. We race head on in faith and hope despite the darkness around us knowing that it is Jesus whom we will find at our destination. Trust in the Risen Lord, and run!