Rather, several years back, Louis Rukeyser noted on Wall $treet Week the distinction between what constitutes a foregone conclusion and the essence of a sound investment decision.  He said that, if people had complete information, an investment would be a foregone conclusion, not a decision.  Wise investing, Louis Rukeyser said, requires making a decision based upon incomplete information.

That's an important distinction to consider this Easter Sunday.

It’s pretty easy for Catholics to think about the events of the Easter Triduum―communicated in the liturgy and scripture of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter―as if they provide complete information making what Catholics believe a foregone conclusion.  Armed with complete information, there’s no decision to be made.

For example, celebrating the institution of the Eucharist on Holy Thursday should provide all of the information to believe that the bread and the wine become the body and the blood of Christ.  In fact, the gospel of the Holy Thursday liturgy provides information for us to enter the Upper Room and to watch Jesus as he says the blessing, breaks the bread, and passes the cup.  In light of this information, there’s no decision to make; that the Eucharist is Jesus’ body and blood is a foregone conclusion.

Likewise, the execution of Jesus on Good Friday provides information to believe that God’s only begotten son died on the Cross and descended into Hell.  In fact, the reading of the Passion narrative during the Good Friday liturgy provides information for us to walk beside Jesus on the Way of the Cross and watch on as the Roman soldiers nail Jesus to the Cross.  We can hear Jesus cry out in anguish and see Jesus gasp his final breath.  In light of the information, there’s no decision to make; that Jesus is the Son of God is a foregone conclusion.

So, we might expect that Easter would provide complete information to believe in Jesus’ resurrection as if it, too, is a foregone conclusion.

But, in a radical departure from the liturgy and readings of Holy Thursday and Good Friday, the gospel of the Easter liturgy doesn’t provide one whit of information about the facts surrounding Jesus’ resurrection.  No one who we know of witnessed the resurrection and the gospel provides no information to retrace or relive what happened or even to imagine what it must to have been like to catch sight of Jesus emerging from the tomb on that first Easter morning.  Instead, what the gospel does relate is information concerning what happened after God raised Jesus from the dead.

We heard, for example, that early in the morning Mary Magdalene went to the tomb.  She approached the open tomb but didn’t look inside it, drawing from her limited information the foregone conclusion that Jesus’ body was stolen.  Then, she ran to report the theft of Jesus’ body to Peter and the other disciple.

The gospel also tells us how, upon hearing Mary Magdalene’s report, Peter and “the other disciple” ran to the tomb and entered it.

Peter took a look around and saw that the tomb was empty.  He also noted that the burial cloths had been placed in two separate places.  Like Mary Magdalene, Peter the foregone conclusion from incomplete information that Jesus’ body, indeed, had been stolen.

But, while “the other disciple” also found the tomb empty, he did not draw the foregone conclusion that Jesus’ body had been stolen.  Instead, this disciple saw information that the other two missed and made a wise decision, namely, that God had raised Jesus from the dead.

Unfortunately, this story does not provide one whit of information that would make belief in Jesus’ resurrection a foregone conclusion.  What we're left with is a mystery―something impossible to grasp fully with the human mind―indicating that belief in the resurrection requires something more than the information that would make belief in the resurrection a foregone conclusion.

What this mystery requires for each of us is to make a decision, just as “the other disciple” did.  But, what is the essence of that decision?

The mystery of the resurrection requires making a decision to enter into the tombs of our lives, just as “the other disciple” made his decision to enter the tomb.  The mystery may require making a decision to look into the tomb of a broken relationship or a serious illness.  The mystery may require making a decision to confront a physical limitation or an addiction.  The mystery may require making a decision to examine a fear of failure or guilt for having failed.  But, when we decide to look into these tombs, we do so using eyes that look to see God’s power at work―as “the other disciple” did―rather than look to see information to validate a foregone conclusion―as Mary Magdalene and Peter did.

This Easter Sunday we celebrate the recognition that God is with us in everything, even in death.  No mater how dark, how bleak, or how empty a tomb may be, the mystery of the resurrection requires making a decision to run toward the tomb―as “the other disciple” did―and to look into it “thinking about the things that are above,” as St. Paul wrote.