When I was little, Easter was something I looked forward to for I would get chocolate eggs from my grandparents and there was such a festive air when the extended family gathered together to eat. I loved, and still love singing the Easter Song for it is so full of joy.
Now my people don't you weep, He has risen from the sleep, He lives again. Alleluia!
To be able to sing Alleluia without restraint after the sombre season of Lent invokes an exuberance that is supremely satisfying. The Lord is risen! Praise God! Alleluia!
Understanding today the significance of Easter with an adult sensitivity, the sense of gladness I experienced as a child is still present, and enhanced by a deep gratitude and wonder (what did I do to deserve this selfless and unconditional love?).
It is precisely because I did not do anything to deserve this gift of redemption, the chance to make good on mistakes or golden opportunities cavalierly treated that makes it all the more felicitous and precious.
When one receives a piece of good news, the first reaction is to tell someone else, especially if it can make them happy as well. So what kind of response does the Easter message of risen life call forth from me besides joy? The reflection from Laudate reminds me there are "new challenges and new responsibilities, especially in evangelization."
Satan couldn't prevent the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, so now he is reduced to trying to stop us from spreading the good news that Jesus is alive and has conquered sin and death forever. Satan tries to limit the spread of the good news is to tempt Jesus' witnesses to be afraid, afraid of evangelizing, afraid of radical lifestyle changes, afraid of stepping out in faith, afraid of change. If Satan can take hold of at least a part of us, he's well on his way to reducing us from a half-witness to no witness at all.
This reflection really challenges me; why am I not spreading the good news of the Risen Lord in a bigger way? After all, we the undeserving are forgiven. We the sinners are beloved and redeemed. The darkness and hopelessness that oppressively crowds life is illuminated by this singular act of dying on the cross that triumphantly transmogrifies into resurrection. Evil is overcome. Death is not a tragic end but the beginning of a hope-filled, new life. A risen life.
Meeting a couple of good friends yesterday reminded me that family life can be difficult. The seeds of pride, envy, greed and unforgiving anger can sow discord and despair within even the most loving of families.
All families are broken because all individuals that make up a family are broken in different ways. I can be my loving best and yet at times my loving best descends into unkind words and actions, cowardly silence, lazy or defeated inaction and even a vicious meanness I would disapprove in others. I cannot seem to help myself and fear often dictates my immature and selfish behaviour.
But if Jesus can defeat death, so can I. I can defeat the death dealing actions of my brokenness if I recognize and train my focus on the Risen Lord. This is the Easter promise. This is how I can be an Easter person, a person of joy and hope - within my own family and with others I meet. This is how I can make the difference, by meeting Him in the tomb and responding with faith to His call: Out of darkness I call you to bring light to others.
Make tomorrow a light-filled Easter day.
Now my people don't you weep, He has risen from the sleep, He lives again. Alleluia!
To be able to sing Alleluia without restraint after the sombre season of Lent invokes an exuberance that is supremely satisfying. The Lord is risen! Praise God! Alleluia!
Understanding today the significance of Easter with an adult sensitivity, the sense of gladness I experienced as a child is still present, and enhanced by a deep gratitude and wonder (what did I do to deserve this selfless and unconditional love?).
It is precisely because I did not do anything to deserve this gift of redemption, the chance to make good on mistakes or golden opportunities cavalierly treated that makes it all the more felicitous and precious.
When one receives a piece of good news, the first reaction is to tell someone else, especially if it can make them happy as well. So what kind of response does the Easter message of risen life call forth from me besides joy? The reflection from Laudate reminds me there are "new challenges and new responsibilities, especially in evangelization."
Satan couldn't prevent the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, so now he is reduced to trying to stop us from spreading the good news that Jesus is alive and has conquered sin and death forever. Satan tries to limit the spread of the good news is to tempt Jesus' witnesses to be afraid, afraid of evangelizing, afraid of radical lifestyle changes, afraid of stepping out in faith, afraid of change. If Satan can take hold of at least a part of us, he's well on his way to reducing us from a half-witness to no witness at all.
This reflection really challenges me; why am I not spreading the good news of the Risen Lord in a bigger way? After all, we the undeserving are forgiven. We the sinners are beloved and redeemed. The darkness and hopelessness that oppressively crowds life is illuminated by this singular act of dying on the cross that triumphantly transmogrifies into resurrection. Evil is overcome. Death is not a tragic end but the beginning of a hope-filled, new life. A risen life.
Meeting a couple of good friends yesterday reminded me that family life can be difficult. The seeds of pride, envy, greed and unforgiving anger can sow discord and despair within even the most loving of families.
All families are broken because all individuals that make up a family are broken in different ways. I can be my loving best and yet at times my loving best descends into unkind words and actions, cowardly silence, lazy or defeated inaction and even a vicious meanness I would disapprove in others. I cannot seem to help myself and fear often dictates my immature and selfish behaviour.
But if Jesus can defeat death, so can I. I can defeat the death dealing actions of my brokenness if I recognize and train my focus on the Risen Lord. This is the Easter promise. This is how I can be an Easter person, a person of joy and hope - within my own family and with others I meet. This is how I can make the difference, by meeting Him in the tomb and responding with faith to His call: Out of darkness I call you to bring light to others.
Make tomorrow a light-filled Easter day.
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