In one family, it is a Good Friday. A job has been lost, a career derailed. A serious illness has been diagnosed. A once-loving relationship has unraveled. But the other members of the family put aside their own lives and come together at the foot of their loved one’s cross. Their love moves whatever mountain necessary, changes the course of whatever river is in their way. Together, Mom and Dad and Sister and Brother, Step Parent, Single Parent, and Grandparent bear one another’s crosses to bring hope, healing, forgiveness — and resurrection — to every aspect of their life together as a family. The love of our families can transform tragic and desperate Good Fridays into Easter hope.
In this classroom, it is a Good Friday. The numbers and diagrams in the algebra text are a maze to the student. She is lost and frustrated and discouraged and wants to quit. A tired, overworked teacher just wants to go home after a long week; but, seeing her student’s frustration, she takes off her coat, puts down her pile of books and papers, and patiently walks through the problems with the befuddled student. After a lot of hard work and patience, the “lights come on.” A teacher’s selfless caring and generous gift of time transform this student’s Good Friday into Easter light.
At corporate, it is Good Friday. A single mother has lost all of her vacation and leave time to care for her seriously ill child. She is about to lose her job – and the important medical benefits critical to her family’s survival. Her co-workers devise a plan to pool some of their vacation time and cover her responsibilities so that she can keep her job and benefits while caring for her son. A Good Friday of desperation is transformed into an Easter of possibility.
If we are honest, all of us sometimes find ourselves stuck in a Good Friday world – our problems batter us, overwhelm us, strain our ability to cope and make it all work. Our Alleluias are tempered by reality; we approach this Easter Day with “Christ is risen, BUT…” But in raising his son from the dead, God affirms the Goodnews of his Christ: that good can conquer evil, that love can transform hatred, that light can shatter the darkness. We need to remember and remember it well, the story of Jesus whether told in the Bible or on a movie screen does not end in the cold hopelessness of the cross but reaches ultimate fulfillment in the Resurrection. Easter calls us to embrace the Risen One’s compassion and openness of heart and spirit, enabling us to transform the Good Fridays of our lives into Easter mornings.
This Easter morning I close with a challenge for all of us!
Some years ago, I was in Rome on Palm Sunday with the youth from our Diocese for World Youth Day. We all had the opportunity to hear Mother Theresa of Calcutta speak.
I remember well what she said:
“Death has not put a stop to the mission of Jesus. His mission is to be carried on through us. Living witnesses of his presence.” The challenge, to be Easter People — not just today, but everyday. People whose lives not just their mouths (in church) radiate (not perfectly but as best we can) the hope — the joy – the presence of Jesus risen and alive – right here — right now.
Let us stand and re commit ourselves to Being Easter People everyday!
Archive for April, 2011
Easter People! 2011 4-24-2011
Sunday, April 24th, 2011Good Friday Reflection – Our Role In The Story 4-22-2011
Friday, April 22nd, 2011In his painting, “The Erection of the Cross”, the Dutch master Rembrandt portrays the final moments of preparation before the condemned Jesus is hoisted upon the cross. In the painting, the man raising the cross is dressed not like the other figures in the painting but in the contemporary clothing of the artist’s time. Though he never spoke about it or offered any explanation, those who knew Rembrandt recognized the man in the painting immediately: the man raising up the cross is Rembrandt himself.
Rembrandt’s making himself one of the actors in Jesus’ passion is more than just a clever conceit or artist’s eccentricity: it is an act of humble faith; a recognition that we play a role in the crucifixion of Christ that is repeated all around us in acts of violence, injustice and hatred.
As we re-live the story of Jesus’ final hours and death, consider the role each one of us has played in the agonies, betrayals, condemnations and crucifixions around us. May our prayer this Holy Week be that God will give us the grace to overcome the inclination to be judging Caiphases and Pilates and become, instead, Josephs of Arimathea, making Christ’s body our own; that we not seek to melt into the crowd of onlookers but become Simons of Cyrene, helping Jesus take up his cross or one of the women of Jerusalem who offer Jesus a rag to wipe his face, a sponge of wine, the support of their tears; that we may possess more courage than the disciples and be one of the compassionate women who come early in the morning to complete the burial of Christ.
May we not be builders of crosses but angels who roll back the stone and proclaim the good news of the resurrection.
God of forgiveness, help us to be the means of resurrection rather than lifeless vessels of hopelessness and cynicism. May our faithfulness to your Son’s Gospel compel us to seek your love in every relationship, your forgiveness in every crisis, your justice in every trial.
A Eucharist Prom? 4-21-11
Thursday, April 21st, 2011The spring prom is a huge deal at many high schools. And it was especially true at one small high school in Nebraska.
Last spring, the junior class had planned a beautiful prom and spent months organizing events to raise more than $5,000. But as the prom approached, the island nation of Haiti was struck by a devastating earthquake. Moved by the television images of the tragedy, the student council asked the juniors and seniors if the money could be better used for relief efforts in Haiti. Just about every one of the 34 juniors and seniors voted in favor of giving the prom fund to Operation USA for Haitian earthquake relief.
But that did not mean the end of the prom. The students decided that it was still important to celebrate their high school experience together. Donations came in from the community to cover the cost of the prom, but the students insisted that that money go to Haiti, as well. The final donation amounted to almost $7,000. So, the prom took place in the school’s auditorium, decorated with small Christmas lights rather than yards of satin. Music for dancing was played on an iPod plugged into a speaker system. And faculty and parents served a simple meal of homemade lasagna and brownies.
The Spring 2010 prom at Hay Springs High school was indeed a night to remember. The students themselves guaranteed that.
In their sense of community and their generosity to reach out beyond their community, these students can teach us something about the Eucharist and the meaning of the Supper we remember tonight. Christ invites us to his table, but the invitation comes with a price. To come to this table is to be both guest and servant. We are invited to feast on the bread of life and the wine of salvation that is the Risen Christ—but to accept the invitation to the feast means to accept the role of servant to others; to be willing to wash the feet of one another, to carry the small and helpless among us, to share our own small offerings with those who have nothing. In the sacrament that Christ institutes this last night of his life; Jesus invites us to become what we receive: to become Christ, the humble, giving Servant who gives his life for us and to us in the bread and wine of the Eucharist. To become what we receive—to be both guest and servant. May the rituals of our gatherings always lead us to the streets of our lives.
Amen.
