Fearful yet overjoyed Mt. 28:28
Mary Magdalene had gone to visit the tomb where Jesus was laid,
Expecting to anoint His Body,
Only to find the tomb empty.
Fearful and yet overjoyed for she remembered the words of Jesus,
That He was the Resurrection and the Life.
How would you feel if you went to the cemetery to visit the grave of a loved one and found it empty?
Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice, and come forth. Jn 5:28
Easter is not about bunnies and eggs.
Although I do not mind a few chocolate eggs myself!
Easter is primarily about knowing that all of our crosses will be laid down one day.
All of our suffering will end.
And all of our tears will be wiped away.
And even death itself will let go of us as we rise from the grave to eternal life.
What crosses are you carrying?
What weighs you down?
What worries keep you up at night?
What fears are you facing?
Who have you lost in your life?
Sometimes the day, the week even our whole life can feel like one long Good Friday.
Easter reminds us that there is an end to our Good Fridays.
Not only and end but a brand new day, a brand new life.
Nothing else on this earth can promise this, only Jesus!
At the grave of Lazarus, Jesus told Martha that He is the Resurrection and the life and then He asked her, Do you believe this?
And she answered Yes!
Easter is a reality check.
What do we believe in?
Do we believe in the almighty dollar?
And while money is nice you cannot take it with you.
Someone else will one day get every single penny of what you worked for your entire life.
Do we believe in politicians?
They come and go every election.
Making promises that are very hard to keep even with the best of intentions.
Or do we believe in power, popularity or health.
All of these things are temporary and eventually slip through our fingers.
So what do we believe in?
And what will it get us and how long will it last?
Those who believe in Jesus get
Unconditional love
Forgiveness without limits
Hope against all odds
Peace that no suffering or trouble can ever take away.
Life beyond the grave without end.
This is what Easter joy is all about.
This is what we believe in.
And so after Mass we can all go home to bunnies and chocolate Easter Eggs and a new day, because even in the darkest night or the heaviest cross, we know The Risen Lord has overcome it all and nothing, absolutely nothing can take away our joy of knowing Christ Jesus is Risen from the dead.
Good Friday is the greatest drama in the history of the world.
For it is the drama of suffering, death, forgiveness and redemption.
Played out on a small stage;
On A tiny hill with only three crosses as props.
Where one Man dies alone for the salvation of the world.
instead of applauding at the end,
The audience cries out Crucify Him, Crucify Him.
And there are many different characters in this Drama of Salvation.
One betrayed Jesus;
He saw all the miracles and heard all His teaching about Love of enemy and then he turns around betrays Him with a kiss.
Another was given the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven and saw Jesus Transfigured on Mount Tabor but he denied he ever knew Him.
Another was a government official who did not want to get involved in the affairs of religion.
Then there were the religious leaders who were supposed to have known better and who should have spotted the Messiah when He came but were blinded by their own self righteousness.
Then there was a mother;
She bore Him, nursed Him, held Him as a child.
And now has to bear Him once again but this time wipe His wounds and hold His dead body as He comes down from the cross.
And there was a rich man who offered Jesus,
Not a palace,
But a grave in which to rest.
And then there was another man, who came always in the night,
Because he did not want others to see that he believed in Jesus;
But who now has finally stepped out of the shadows to to anoint His dead body.
This drama is never ending;
It is played out everyday in the world.
What part do we play in this Drama of Salvation?
Do we play the role of deniers or betrayers by our actions or our words?
Or Are we just spectators in the audience who don’t really want to get involved?
Do we come only for the Sunday matinee?
Or do we play it out everyday.
are we willing to jump on stage
And get involved and become part of it.
The Son of God came into the drama of our life
With all of its messiness, suffering, pain and death.
And only when we are willing to enter into the drama of Christ,
With his sufferings and cross
Will the drama of our lives with all of its messiness, suffering, pain and death,
Make sense and come to an end.
Giving Thanks. Mt. 26-28
On the Night He was Betrayed;
On the Night He would be denied;
On the Night He would be arrested;
On the Night He would be rejected;
On the Night before he would be scourged, crowned with Thorns and Crucified.
What did Jesus do?
He gave Thanks!
Just imagine.
Before all of this unbelievable emotional and physical suffering,
He gave thanks!
He took the Bread and gave thanks.
Then He took the Chalice and gave thanks.
He did not complain:
He did not curse His Father;
He did not say, “Why Me?”
Rather He gave thanks!
In our darkest hour do we give thanks to God?
True Faith, Gives Thanks, always and everywhere.
Actually True Faith is revealed,
when we give thanks In our darkest hour.
When we are betrayed.
When we are rejected;
When we are facing the greatest emotional and physical suffering of our lives.
For when we do Give Thanks at these times;
A tremendous sense of Peace comes over us.
For in the very act of giving thanks,
we realize that we are not alone.
And have never been alone.
That no rejection, suffering or death can ultimately overcome us,
For God is with us through it all.
As He has always been.
Big and little betrayals
At first We may find it hard believe how Judas could have betrayed Jesus.
Until we begin to reflect upon the little betrayals that people commit against Jesus everyday.
For Jesus is in each person we meet everyday.
Whenever people turn their back on someone in need;
They are turning their back on Jesus carrying His cross.
Whenever people make fun of other people or mock them;
They are mocking Jesus as the soldiers did.
Whenever people remain silent about their Faith;
They are denying Jesus as Peter did.
Whenever people choose money or power or fame over their Faith;
Then they are like Judas betraying Jesus.
we either
betray and deny and mock and Jesus
Or we comfort and console and love Him;
By the way we treat one another.
Roosters and St. Peter Jn. 13:36-38
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Roosters announce things
They announce the dawn.
They announce when the fox is in the hen house.
Peter was a kind of rooster.
Always speaking up first.
Announcing things;
From the empty boat, Peter said;
“We have toiled all night but took nothing in,
But at Your word we will lower the nets.”
Then when the boat was overflowing with fish,
“Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
At Caesarea Philippi,
“You are the Christ, the Son of God!”
Immediately followed by,
“God forbid Lord, that you should suffer and die.”
At Capernaum after the discourse on the Bread of Life,
“Lord to Whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life.”
On the stormy sea,
“”Lord bid me to come to You on the water.”
On Mount Tabor he said,
“Lord it is good to be here, let us build three tents.”
In the Upper Room at the Last Supper,
“Lord you shall never wash my feet.”
And later that same night,
“Lord I am willing to go to prison and to death for you.”
But how quickly Peter changed his tune when questioned
while standing around the fire at the High Priest house;
Three times he crowed,
“I do not know him!”
Judas and Mary Jn 12:1-11
Said Judas to Mary
1.Said Judas to Mary, "Now what will you do
With your ointment so rich and rare?"
"I'll pour it all over the feet of the Lord,
I'll wipe it away with my hair", she said,
I'll wipe it away with my hair.
2."Oh Mary, O Mary, O think of the poor.
This ointment, it could have been sold;
And think of the blanket and think of the bread
You could buy with the silver and gold", he said,
You could buy with silver and gold.
3.Tomorrow, tomorrow, I'll think of the poor;
"Tomorrow", she said, "not today"
"For dearer than all of the poor in the world
Is my love who is going away," she said,
"My love who is going away."
4.Said Jesus to Mary, "Your love is so deep
Today, you may do as you will.
Tomorrow, you say, I am going away,
But my body I leave with you still," he said,
"My body I leave with you still."
5."The poor of the world is my body," he said,
To the end of the world they shall be.
The bread and the blanket you give to the poor
You'll know you have given to me, he said,
"You'll know you have given to me."
6."My body will hang from the cross of the world
Tomorrow," he said, "and today,
And Martha and Mary will find me again
"and wash all the sorrow away," he said,
"And wash all the sorrow away."
