EASTER SUNDAY

CELEBRATE EASTER

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

Be in your prayer space, follow the usual steps and settle into silence.

Sit still…..Relax…….Do not rush………

Take a couple of gentle, slow and deep breaths…becoming aware of your breath going in and out… stay focused on this breath of life……

Now I invite you to consecrate your time and all that come with this moment….in your own way, in humble, simple, may be even inadequate words………..

Now from the depth of your heart begin to wish your mind well……….

Our Lenten journey has brought us to Easter – to new life, to new beginnings, to new presence. We celebrate our call to be an Easter People, a People of the Resurrection, a people transformed by the death and resurrection of Jesus, a people who must continue to journey in faith, in hope and in love……….

People of the Resurrection are people of Hope……

Be men and women of Hope…………..

The gift of Easter is the gift of Peace………….

Be men and women of peace……………

We now take a moment to reflect on the different stories of the resurrection of Jesus…..

The Gospel of Mark (Mark 16:9-15) tells us that Jesus rose from the dead and first appeared to Mary Magdalene, but the followers of Jesus refused to believe her testimony. The disciples did not expect Jesus to be visiting Mary of Magdala after his resurrection. After all, her past was not that great and she was not one of the specially chosen apostles….she did not fit the common criteria for a visit from the world beyond…..

Be open! The Lord has his own way of surprising us! He comes to us through the most unexpected people, events, places and situations! No one expected to find the messiah in a manger or on the cross….that is just the way God revealed the power of His unconditional, unconquerable, benevolent love for us.

Two of the disciples on their way to Emmaus had an experience of the risen Jesus, while they were on the road. The rest of the disciples did not believe them either.

The Gospel of Luke (Luke 24: 1-10) speaks of two young men in white robe at the tomb of Jesus. They said to the women of Galilee who came to visit the tomb: “He is not here, but he has been raised……and they (the women) returned and announced all these things to the eleven and to all others”. And the eleven had trouble believing them too!

For us today, JESUS IS ALIVE! He goes ahead of us into our Galilees…..He will meet us where we are and we must move on and meet him where we are….in life and in death……

In the Gospel of John, we read the moving story of Mary of Magdala (John 20:1-9) going to the tomb of Jesus early in the morning and running to Peter and John to tell them that the tomb was empty. Peter and John went to the tomb and found everything as Mary had described. This excerpt concludes by saying that they believed without understanding the scripture “that he had to rise from the dead”.

Real faith is born of relationship. It is not an affirmation or acceptance of doctrines or acceptance of details of an event that can be verified scientifically or otherwise. To believe is to relate…to believe is to trust…to believe is to be intimate…to believe is to be in communion. Our belief in the resurrection and our commitment to live a resurrected life is the result of our communion with the risen Christ.

Finally, Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples and rebuked them for their disbelief. Then he sent them with the mission: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the good news to all creation”.

Jesus surprised them again by sending them with his message to fulfill his mission. Men of weak faith……..men who could not see beyond their disappointment………men, who did not grasp all that Jesus said to them about his death and resurrection while he was among them, were sent to proclaim the good news of the resurrection!

Don’t wait and don’t hesitate to share and announce the good news of God’s love till you have fully matured in faith!

Take a moment…Be still and gently breathe in the breath of life!

Take another moment…..dwell on the following thoughts.

• Easter comes after the race to the tomb……reflect on racing to the tomb!
  

• Racing to the tomb means moving through uncertainty, doubts and fears and embracing the emptiness of the tomb……this must happen if we are ever to understand life.
  

   

• Reflect on what awaits you on arriving at the tomb…..emptiness and death have been changed into life.
  

• Racing to the tomb means losing life…it also means finding life! It means the grain of wheat falling into the ground and dying only to rise again.
  

• It means life dug out of death, joy born out of sorrow, light breaking out of darkness.
  

• We will be racing to the tomb as long as we live. We will be peering into the tomb to see if Jesus is really there!
  

• In our moment of uncertainty, we, like Mary, would do well if we remember to check with the gardener…mystery of life and death would get unraveled.
  

• Mary was blessed to run into the gardener….in the gardener she found the one she was looking for! God does have ways of surprising us!
  

• Our willingness to remove all the stones from the doorways of the tomb is urgent, however huge the stones may be, if we wish to find the hidden life in us.
  

• The women moved to the tomb wondering who will roll the stone away from the tomb…they moved with uncertainty, they moved all the same!
  

• The mystery of hope unfolds before the tomb – only an eye of faith can see it as it unfolds. The Cross and the tomb call us to wait in Hope for victory/glory beyond understanding.
  

• We can withdraw from the tomb… OR look deep inside and find it empty… OR look around and find HIM alive and moving and calling us.
  

• Remember…Jesus stepped on death, stepped into the tomb, leaped out of it, moved out into the world….life to its fullness is his gift to us! Embrace it!
  

I wish you a very happy, holy, faith-filled and joy-filled Easter. I wish you God’s

Peace – the peace that Jesus promised, the kind of peace the world can not offer. I

Pray for you and your families that the Lord will keep you safe in the hollow of his hand, in the center of his will and in the circle of his love.

HAPPT EASTER!

Fr. Gus Tharappel,msfs