Christ is Risen – He is Risen Indeed!
We have just finished celebrating the Octave of Easter and now settle into the remainder of the fifty days of Easter. It is a good time to stop and reflect on what we have celebrated and experienced. This is the practice referred to as Mystagogia in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, where the newly baptized reflect throughout the Easter Season on the mysteries they have celebrated. We all do well to engage in some Mystagogia no matter how long it has been since our own baptism.
In John’s Gospel, which we read last Sunday, we have a brief description of the encounter of the disciples with their risen Lord. In that short passage, Jesus repeats the blessing “Peace be with you” three times. He immediately breathes on them, bestowing the gift of the Spirit and hands on his mission. Mixed in with that is Thomas’ story.
As I look back over the Triduum and the Octave, I recognize that the celebrations mirror our life experiences in so many ways. We gather on Thursday to celebrate the Last Supper. How often we gather with friends and family to celebrate, to rejoice in our friendship and belonging, to strengthen our bonds and grow in our relationships. And yet, we know that often those gatherings also have undercurrents of mistrust, anger, sadness, judgment and misunderstanding mixed in with the joy.
As we gathered on Good Friday, my mind and heart reflected back on times in my own life when I felt hurt, betrayed, abandoned, unforgiven, guilty, disloyal or just too apathetic to care. I could identify with the disciples as well as with Jesus in his suffering. And yet Jesus accepted the rejection and suffering and remained faithful to his call. A call and a challenge to me, as well as a gift of unconditional love and forgiveness. And God’s love truly is a gift, always present, always enlivening even when I am least accepting of that gift.
The Easter Vigil is a time to sit and reflect on the wonder of all that God has done for us, as well as to recognize my own life mirrored in the sweep of scriptural treasures poured out for us – life, giftedness, call, response, times of trial and testing, times of turning away and being called back. And finally, joy in celebrating the resurrection of the Lord and the gift of new life, life that cannot be destroyed by death.
But of course, the story doesn’t stop there, just as life doesn’t stop and get frozen at a moment in time. The readings for the Second Sunday of Easter remind me that we are on a journey, and there are still questions, doubts and fears. But underlying all that is the promise that Jesus journeys with us and will never leave us abandoned. Even when I am doubtful or fearful, the message comes through again: “Peace be with you”, “Receive the Holy Spirit”. And so we have another forty days to pray, reflect and celebrate. What we have experienced, we are called to live throughout the coming year.
By Richard Beaudette, OMI
