Here at St. Louis de Montfort, the early weeks of Lent came and went like other Lents: with ashes, and homilies; we even had 2 speakers who encouraged us to live the Holy Spirit’s gifts we had received in Baptism and Confirmation. And then…we were all swept up into the orbit of the Corona Virus: COVID-19; that changed most of us a lot! Before it hit us, many were SO sure of themselves, and ourselves: we felt surer of our own destiny; we thought we knew how secure we were financially and otherwise, and we found out how wrong we were. And now, like other plague and crisis times in history, we’re re-learning: that we are truly creatures, not God, and as creatures we continue to need the redemptive power of the Risen Christ Jesus. Alleluia! How blessed we are to have this fountain of faith that runs within our immortal souls.
So we gather, at this first Mass of Easter, to soak up into our senses our common story: the story of how Jesus Christ saved us once for all, and how we hunger and ache for its now power to assist us. And so, what has prepared us to receive God’s gracious Easter Good News?
Well, those first two selections from the Hebrew Scriptures form a beautiful prelude or preparation for our Easter message: In the first, Genesis tells us that God says we are good: even when we don’t feel we are, or think we are, or believe we are: God says so. And the Exodus reading reminds us that God is determined to liberate us from all evil, sin, death, hatred, and that includes the Virus that’s robbed us, and re-routed our time and priorities, too. NB: when our Jewish friends celebrate Passover, they’re very clear to say that the saving power of God in the Exodus is NOT just in past tense, as if it’s done and over. No, it’s now power! That’s a great reminder for us: Christ rose almost 2,000 years ago, but his Resurrection power continues to free people of faith today!
So, let’s reflect on that mystery of God’s undying love in Christ Jesus in St. Matthew’s Gospel. It starts at dawn on Sun AM: on the first day of the week: the beginning of a new creation, as God invites us to understand that this world is NOT big enough to hold God’s lasting love:this world, and its judgments like the cross, are not the final word: God does get the final word, and God’s Word is Life, new birth, and hope in darkness, even for today’s darkness of uncertainty. To hear those selections from Scripture is to hear God’s confidence in US about new light. You will remember in Psalm 23: “though I should walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will not be afraid.” That is, God is already victorious in His Son’s death and resurrection.
and then, there are surprises: 1.they feel an earthquake and see the angel victorious atop the rock; 2. those guarding Jesus’ tomb grow pale, like dead men, while a dead Jesus is risen and seen with a new body; and 3rd, the women who stayed faithful even after Christ’s death receive a noble task: they are the 1st to announce to the 11 faithful apostles that Jesus was alive and that he would see them soon. Those women are the apostles to the apostles, messengers of the Gospel, bearing good news.
You know how some TV series will present an episode in two parts, and at the end of part one, the screen simply says “to be continued.” That’s the NOW power I am speaking about. Christ's resurrection means that the story of Jesus is "to be continued" in you, and in me, and in every life that is touched by the power of the Good News, for He is risen, as he said." That’s right: the resurrection contains the personal delivery of a promise, door to door!
So it’s up to us: not only to name and claim OUR link to the Resurrection, but where we see it! And YOU know, sometimes we Christians use verbal shorthand: when we want 2summarize quick, we’ll talk about Jesus’ life, suffering, passion, death, resurrection and ascension as the Paschal mystery: that is, Christ the Pasch, the Lamb was slain once, never 2 die again, and faithful to God. Let’s name a few of the places where WE see and feel the power of Christ’s Resurrection continuing:
When I look around to see the lives that are shining lights with helpful and tireless love, I see doctors and nurses, from NY and out of town, sacrificing time without their families at home; and from work, the doctors and nurses hold up signs: “We stay here for you; please stay home for us.”
I see workers in supermarkets staying calm and polite, even when shoppers accuse them of holding back on bags of lentils, hand sanitizers, bathroom tissue, and cans of chickpeas. I see law enforcement personnel: risking their lives with danger coming from every direction: they say: I come to serve. I see a newspaper delivery man, who brings the paper about 4am, when he also picks up the grocery shopping list of elderly people on his route who are at risk to be in stores, and he delivers their food later in the day. Aren’t these people really and truly rays of hope? Yes. And SO is the woman who is making “Sunshine Phone Calls” every day, to people in her senior group. In these people our Good God, this God of Life and Love, is turning fear to faith, and suffering to grace.
So, let US be of one heart and one voice with the millions of people throughout the world who truly believe that Jesus is alive and active today, even as we struggle personally with the Corona Virus. Let us view see these life-given and divinely-inspired efforts all around us as sparks of light, shining as the public notice that God’s promised grace is en route. Alleluia.
Happy Easter, one and all.