What is it you seek?
We Christians need to be carried away by hope. That hope comes to us in Christ in so many ways. For example, only once a year do we celebrate the Easter Vigil we bless the fire outside to light the new Paschal candle marked with the Stations of the Cross on it and the 5 most holy wounds of Jesus on the cross along with the year 2015 of our Lord.
The Easter light of Christ was passed to all who held vigil candles as we entered the dark church in his light. We recalled the history of salvation through the readings of scripture that foretold of the Messiah who would come and save our world and we heard the Gospel good news of his Resurrection. We blessed the water of the baptism font with this same candle and baptized two new sisters into the faith along with another new sister in Christ who made her First Communion with the neophytes and were Confirmed into the Holy Roman Catholic Church. What a gift to us as these new members who pronounced our Creed with all attending. They now are in full Communion joining us in what we believe—that Jesus is made known to us in the Sacraments of the Church and in particular in the breaking of the Bread at His altar. Can you imagine what that First Communion was like for our new members?
That newness of life in Christ is why we come every Easter and every Sunday –to have our faith renewed in the Risen Lord.
As we ponder John’s Gospel, we are brought to the realization of the tremendous love and concern that prevailed in the Resurrection event. Mary Magdalene, who witnesses such great love for Jesus, risks her life standing at the foot of the cross with the Blessed Mother and St. John, and then running to the tomb very early in the morning while it was still dark. Can you imagine Mary’s surprise when she saw the stone removed from the tomb! She ran to Peter and John with the news of her astounding discovery. Impelled by the urgency of the situation, Peter and John ran to the tomb.
But it was Mary Magdalene and John, the beloved disciple, who were the first to believe in the Resurrection. Love opened the eyes of their souls and in the depth of their hearts to BELIEVE. They sought to do so.
What is it that you seek for Easter, for life, AND are you actively seeing and listening for the Lord?
In our own lives we can recall times when we believed, even though we did not understand. When did we trust a divine intuition? Where did these moments of faith come from? Isn’t it because our life in Jesus took hold of us in unexpected ways and we lived love fully and for all.
The power of Easter with the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus must be a faith moment in eternity. It is a time to reflect on the response of Mary, John and Peter who were the first to discover that Jesus had risen. Easter challenges us to rediscover and appreciate our sense of wonder at life and life in our faith.
Easter is a jubilant and hope-filled event for Christians. Yet our rejoicing is not limited to the celebration of the day itself. We have cause to be open to rejoice throughout the year and throughout life by recognizing and remembering the “little Easters”. “Little Easters” are those treasurable times that we often allow to slip by- moments of surprise, hope, joy that become clouded by our daily struggles and routine. Let us open our hearts to the Risen Savior and be aware of how actively God visits us, surprised at how simple events have nourished our spirits and awed at how God enters our lives through the people around us. Love, care, concern, beauty, friendship, courage, the tiny hands of a baby, the laughter that raise us up – the life events that contain any of these qualities are opportunities to celebrate the Resurrection. They are renewing calls to look deeply through the disguises of life into who we truly are-we are a part of the created beauty of God’s presence. God’s love for us is so great and unfathomable. It doesn’t stop in this world but is offered to us in Easter love—so simple yet profound: God dies for us that we may be resurrected to eternal life with God!
What we are seeking in the depths of our being is Easter revealed. How powerful God is and what joy God is holding out for us as we “see and believe” and come to “understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead”. Let us pray that the power of God, which raised Jesus from the dead, will penetrate our hearts and transform us into a new and refreshing life in the Risen Jesus. Happy EASTER, the answer we seek, Fr. Gordon