Newness on the Move!
My Dear Parish Family,
Blessed and joyful Easter Season to you and all your loved ones! The whole Easter season is such a delightful time of year, coinciding with Spring, at least in the Northern Hemisphere. New life is everywhere! The grass is growing; early flowers are on the move; many trees are budding. The days grow longer and warmer…. especially after this Winter! The whole earth seems to be awakening from a slumber, even from a death - we might say - awakening unto new life. A beautiful harmony exists between the natural rhythms and our supernatural existence. Creation imitates her Creator. Just as the grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die, so our Lord Jesus is the ultimate seed which blossoms unto eternal life.
Today, we find ourselves again at a tomb, while it is still dark. Mary Magdala is drawn there. Like gravity, her love draws her to the one who has become the center of her existence, yet she finds the stone rolled away. She runs to share the news. Peter and John run back to the tomb, lots of movement, excitement, and questions. We appreciate the mixture of fear and joy, faith, and doubt. Where to from here? And the lingering question: “Why do you see the living one among the dead?”
Three times Jesus predicted his passion (Mk 8:31; 9:31; 10:32 - easier to remember if you just think 8:30/9:30/10:30). Each prediction is marked by an increase in severity and detail. He has warned them, tried to prepare them, and has given them the plan. And yet they cannot seem to imagine what will be, so radical and new it is!
We humans have a deep longing for truth, but also the challenge of accepting what lies outside our understanding or expectation. This Easter, we gather around the empty tomb to marvel and seek greater faith, but we cannot stay there. We are invited with Mary to tell the brothers. We are invited with the apostles to go to Galilee. We are Christians meant to be on the move, meant to journey with Jesus in the newness of life. In a way, we need the tomb - to see it and know and appreciate what it means - but then we need to move beyond the tomb and walk in newness of life! Jesus invites us again: follow me.
Happy Feast of the Resurrection!
Fr. Joel
