Easter Week 2010

LIFE WITH THE RISEN CHRIST

Easter Sunday April 4^th 2010

Luke 4:13-35.

¹³ Now that very same day, two of them were on their way to a village called Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁴ and they were talking together about all that had happened. ¹⁵ And it happened that as they were talking together and discussing it, Jesus himself came up and walked by their side; ¹⁶ but their eyes were prevented from recognising him. ¹⁷ He said to them, 'What are all these things that you are discussing as you walk along?' They stopped, their faces downcast. ¹⁸ Then one of them, called Cleopas, answered him, 'You must be the only person staying in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have been happening there these last few days.' ¹⁹ He asked, 'What things?' They answered, 'All about Jesus of Nazareth, who showed himself a prophet powerful in action and speech before God and the whole people; ²⁰ and how our chief priests and our leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and had him crucified. ²¹ Our own hope had been that he would be the one to set Israel free. And this is not all: two whole days have now gone by since it all happened; ²² and some women from our group have astounded us: they went to the tomb in the early morning, ²³ and when they could not find the body, they came back to tell us they had seen a vision of angels who declared he was alive. ²⁴ Some of our friends went to the tomb and found everything exactly as the women had reported, but of him they saw nothing.' ²⁵ Then he said to them, 'You foolish men! So slow to believe all that the prophets have said! ²⁶ Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer before entering into his glory?' ²⁷ Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about himself. ²⁸ When they drew near to the village to which they were going, he made as if to go on; ²⁹ but they pressed him to stay with them saying, 'It is nearly evening, and the day is almost over.' So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰ Now while he was with them at table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them. ³¹ And their eyes were opened and they recognised him; but he had vanished from their sight. ³² Then they said to each other, 'Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?' ³³ They set out that instant and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven assembled together with their companions, ³⁴ who said to them, 'The Lord has indeed risen and has appeared to Simon.' ³⁵ Then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised him at the breaking of bread.

How many people suffer like these two disciples! Once disciples they would like to be still but have lost Jesus. So many come to church and to Mass like the disciples to the tomb but “of him they ‘see’ nothing”. Jesus may chide us too for being so slow to believe. We may have heard the Gospels since childhood but have we penetrated their meaning? Have our hearts burned within us as we listened to them? Have we ever met the Risen Jesus? He walks with us but we cannot recognize him. He is always present but do we want him to stay? Are we in earnest or simply superficial in our belief in him? The way to meet him today is in the Breaking of Bread. When we Break Bread together in fellowship we meet Jesus both in the Sacrament and in our community. Has Jesus risen – for you?

5^th April 2010 Monday in the Octave of Easter

Mt 28:8-15

⁸ Filled with awe and great joy the women came quickly away from the tomb and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ And suddenly, coming to meet them, was Jesus. ‘Greetings,’ he said. And the women came up to him and, clasping his feet, they did him homage. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee; there they will see me.’ ¹¹ Now while they were on their way, some of the guards went off into the city to tell the chief priests all that had happened. ¹² These held a meeting with the elders and, after some discussion, handed a considerable sum of money to the soldiers ¹³ with these instructions, ‘This is what you must say, “His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.” ¹⁴ And should the governor come to hear of this, we undertake to put things right with him ourselves and to see that you do not get into trouble.’ ¹⁵ So they took the money and carried out their instructions, and to this day that is the story among the Jews.

Why did the women go to the tomb? They went to see the sepulchre.. They didn’t expect to see Jesus but love drew them to the tomb. Love opened them to God’s grace. Do I love Jesus? I know he is risen. Do I want to meet him? If I do then he will meet me. How do I go to the tomb today? I go to the ‘absence’ of daily prayer. But he won’t be ‘absent’. Jesus will come. We must experience Jesus if our faith is to be fruitful. The chief priests had no love for Jesus. They were closed even to the evidence of the guards. The guards did not know Jesus and so had no love for him either. They took money and lied. Do I want to know Jesus, risen for me? Or do I remain an outsider, unwilling to fall in love?

6^th April 2010  Tuesday in the Octave of Easter

Jn 20:11-18

Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they  have laid him.” 14 Saying this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rab-bo’ni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my  Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” 18 Mary Mag’dalene went and said to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her. 

Mary came to the tomb looking for Jesus, but it was a dead Jesus, a Jesus of the past. She had come with the others to anoint the dead body of Jesus. She was living in the time of Jesus visible and physical presence. She is to learn that Jesus is still present, but in a new way. She can know him, but it must be in a new way. While she remains in the old way she does not recognize him and the tomb is empty and she is in tears because of ‘his absence’. The new way is the way of faith. It is through believing his Word in the Gospel spoken to you and meeting him in daily personal prayer in which like Mary we seek for him. It was her love that enbled her to recognize his Word. Love for Jesus is everything and without it we are nothing.

7th May 2010  Wednesday in the Octave of Easter

Lk 24:13-35

13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emma’us, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation which you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cle’opas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God  and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since this happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning 23 and did not find his body; and they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just as the women had said; but him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He appeared to be going further, 29 but they constrained him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?” 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven gathered together and those who were with them, 34 who said, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

The two disciples were living in the past. They thought of Jesus as they had always done – a person visibly living among them. But that Jesus was now dead and they were full of grief. How do you see Jesus? Is he real and present or a kind of figure of history? If we want to dispel our sorrow and spiritual lethargy then we need to meet him and listen to him. We can now only do this through faith. Faith is the gift by which we are certain of that we cannot see (Heb 11:1). It gives us the certainty of Jesus’ presence. We must then listen to him speaking to us. This is through meditation and prayer on the Gospel. Life must become a walk with Jesus. Is yours? How often do you think of him each day? We should recognise him in the breaking of bread. Bread is food and it is for nourishment. The Mass is where we meet Jesus as the food that gives us life in abundance. Is each Mass an encounter with the living Jesus? What must you do to make it such? Is your life a proclamation that you have ‘seen’ Jesus? 

8th April   Thursday in the Octave of Easter

Lk 24:35-48

35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. 36 As they were saying this, Jesus himself stood among them. 37 But they were startled and frightened, and supposed that they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 41 And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate before them. 44 Then he said to them, “These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.

The disciples had listened to the Scripture readings from childhood but they never understood them as saying Jesus must suffer and rise again. They first had to meet the Risen Jesus. He shows to them that he is truly alive. He isn’t a spirit. The tomb is empty because he has risen bodily. He wants us to know here that he has risen with his full humanity and they meet him though he is transformed. When they have met him,  then they are in a position to see how all the Old Testament points towards him and is fulfilled in him. We should never understand the Old Testament except through the fulfilling words and life of Jesus. It is incomplete in doctrine and message. It is coloured by the understanding of God of that time and culture. Jesus alone will reveal the perfect face of the Father? Have you understood God as Jesus taught him or are you still in an Old Testament understanding? God is Abba. If you follow Jesus each day he will transform your life.

April 2010  Friday in the Octave of Easter

Jn 21:1-14

1 After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tibe’ri-as; and he revealed himself in this way. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathan’a-el of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zeb’edee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat; but that night they caught nothing. 4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it  in, for the quantity of fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his clothes, for he  was stripped for work, and sprang into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off. 9 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish lying on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them; and although there were so  many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

The disciples under the leadership of Peter go back to fishing. Jesus wasn’t there, they had not yet received the dynamic presence of the Holy Spirit and so what could they do. They only knew how to fish. But they catch nothing. Their real vocation is not to catch fish in the lake.  Jesus has by no means finished with them. He is still nurturing them as the very foundation of his community of believers. He comes back to them standing on the shore. By the miraculous catch of 153 big fish he teaches them again that they are to become ‘fishers of men’. It is however only ‘the beloved disciple’ who recognizes Jesus and tells Peter, the leader. Jesus can only be recognized now by a faith which is full of love for him. Peter hauls the catch of fish ashore and the Jesus says, “Come and have breakfast”. Jesus is the one who feeds us, gives us life and joy, through the Church. Do you have a faith, inspired by love, which enables you to recognize Jesus in your life?  

10^th April Saturday in the Octave of Easter

Mk 16:9-15

9 Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it. 12 After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them. 14 Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they sat at table; and he upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because  they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.

Did the disciples know Jesus? Of course they did but they didn’t know him fully. They knew him as a human being who had died tragically. In the natural way of things they were full of grief at his death. They couldn’t believe because they had not met Jesus or seen him after he was risen. Can any of us believe before we have met Jesus? Mary Magdelene had met him, the two on the way to the country had met him. The eleven did not believe them because they had not met him. It was only after Jesus met them that they could believe. It is the same today. It is only when we have in some way met Jesus in faith that we can believe and then he can transform us. Do you want to meet Jesus? Then are you willing to take the means? The way to meet Jesus is to give time every day to searching for him in faith. It involves silence and solitude while we read, meditate and pray over the Word of God in the Gospel.

 

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