April 4 ,2010 • The Feast of Easter • Alleluia!
Easter Nonsense
Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James (and others) told the Apostles that they had been to the tomb. The tomb was open and empty. An angel had appeared to them and told them that Jesus was risen from the dead. How did the apostles respond to this great news? (Remember, Jesus told them that he was going to rise on the third day.)
St. Luke tells us in his gospel that the apostles considered the story to be “nonsense, and they did not believe them.” This is not the most glorious way to proclaim Easter, yet it is what what we hear in our Easter Sunday celebration today. Hmmm....a lot of unfinished business here.
I guess that’s good news for us. In the perfect world, all of the disciples of Jesus would forgive each other, share the blessings they have received, not only with their immediate family, but with the poor and needy; all would gather each week for the Eucharist and, having eaten the Body of Jesus and having drunk his Blood, all of us would go into the world to be Jesus’ presence to one another. After all, that’s what Jesus commands his disciples (including us) to do.
Is that nonsense? Immediately we say, “No, Jesus. What you want for us is not nonsense -- it is the way to everlasting life!” But then the “unfinished business” of life happens. People get distracted on the Lord’s Day and don’t come to mass. Grudges creep into our souls and forgiveness is left for another day. We forget that there are hungry people in April...a November Thanksgiving food drive will come soon enough. (Well, you get the idea.)
That first Easter started out with a great disappointment -- the apostles (Jesus’ closest friends) were unbelievers. Yet that was not the end of the story. Over the next 50 days Jesus visited with them, forgave them, fed them, and breathed his Spirit into them. And then these earliest disciples began to do what Jesus commanded. St. Luke wrote about this in his second book, the Acts of the Apostles. Take some time over the next 50 days to read this account of how Christianity starts to become real in the lives of countless people. That’s not only their story -- it’s the story of hope for us in the days ahead. Happy Easter!
