Jesus said, "Peace be with you!" (Easter night & Divine Mercy Sunday)

When I pray the Rosary during this first week of Easter, I can never get past the first mystery - Jesus' Resurrection.  Laying in bed and praying last night, I was seized by Jesus' words when He appeared to the disciples that first evening, "Peace be with you!" (Lk.24:36; Jn.20:19).

They are exquisite.  At the end of the day, my head is often buzzing with the things I didn't get done - the things hanging over it that need to be accomplished tomorrow.  And these words of Jesus reminded me that right then, in that moment, the Lord wanted me to let go and rest.  It was time to enjoy Him and then drift off to sleep, "do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Mt. 6:34).

But there was/is a much deeper meaning to Jesus' "Peace be with you!"  The Lord means that we are at peace with God.  Our sins?  On the Cross, He offered the Father all of the love and obedience our sins denied Him.  And now, in Jesus, we are at peace with God.  Our shame has been redeemed.  We can rest in the arms of a Father Who loves us, free of embarrassment over our pasts.  That is the gift that Baptism gave us - peace with God, the peace of children.  

And if we have sinned greatly after Baptism?  The Sacrament of Reconciliation restores that peace.  Listen to Jesus' very next words to the Apostles, "Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’  And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven’” (Jn. 20:21-23).

We will hear those verses from John's Gospel again this Sunday, on what the Church calls Divine Mercy Sunday (more on that here). If you need to, visit the Sacrament of Reconciliation this weekend and celebrate Christ's mercy, the true and lasting source of peace.

"Why Are You Terrified?"

Jesus and the Apostles were out at sea. Jesus was catching up on some well-deserved sleep when a violent storm hit, so violent that the boat began taking on water. Jesus kept right on sleeping - until the Apostles woke him, screaming, "Don't you care that we are perishing?" Jesus rose, "rebuked" the wind and sea and then spun to face the Apostles, "Why were you terrified?  Do you not yet have faith?" (Mark 4:40).

After having been with Him, after seeing Him heal and cast out devils, after hearing His proclamation of the Father's great love for them, Jesus was shocked by the Apostles' abject terror. They had yet to look at the world through His eyes and to understand that nothing outside of them had the power to snatch them from the Father's hand - not even death. They would not understand until Jesus had been raised and the Spirit poured out on Pentecost.

In the light of Christ's Resurrection, the Apostles finally saw the world as it was: under the Lord's dominion. Nothing is outside His power. Yes, men can commit gross evils, but only because God allows them to exercise their freewills. And, the divine power can turn evil back upon itself with a simple command. The rulers of this world crucified the Lord Jesus; but the Father raised Him and Christ now sits enthroned at His right hand, ready to judge the living and the dead (Acts 2:23-24, 36). That is reality.

Our culture is disintegrating. Our brothers and sisters in the Middle East and Africa are persecuted and killed, and some form of persecution seems to loom on the horizon for us (in addition to that already occurring in academia and the court of public opinion). But I hear the Lord say, "Why are you terrified?"; and I remember the reality to which Jesus witnessed to before Pilate, and Peter and John before the Sanhedrin:

[Pilate said,] "Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:10-11). 

[The Sanhedrin] called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:18-20).

We follow Jesus, Who had power to lay down His life and take it up again (John 10:18), and Who has promised to raise us up, too (John 6:40). What do men and women who have been promised a resurrection from the dead have to fear?  I hate to insert Star Wars into such a serious post, but Obi Wan Kenobi's words to Vader at their final duel capture this truth perfectly: "If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."What can possibly terrify a Christian? Nothing, except allowing ourselves to be robbed of that transformation and eternal treasure. We must continue praying for the grace to persevere and not give into a fear of pain. We must pray, so that

...we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal (2 Cor. 4:16-18)

This reality should fill us with a deep, authentic joy. Thank You, Lord. 

ABC's "Resurrection" and "THE Resurrection"

The fist episode of ABC's Resurrection wrapped up about 20 minutes ago, and I am already eagerly awaiting the next. Anyone who truly knows me will tell you that I love my Sci-Fi (not "putting on costumes and attending conventions" love it; but "I've seen every episode, and every movie, of everything worth seeing, and thought about it more than I will ever admit" love it). This new fictional series imagines what would happen if the deceased residents of a small town (Arcadia, MO) started returning, bodily returning, to their loved ones.  The mystery of course is how they are returning. The first episode focused on an eight year old boy, Jacob Langston.  Jacob, who had drowned 32 years before, woke up in rice paddy field in China, with no understanding of how he got there; and made his way home to the parents who had gradually learned to live with his death.  Fascinating premise, well-written, well-acted; it's my kind of Sci-Fi.  And even better, it's an easy segue to talking about the Faith.

What this series terms "resurrection," is actually either resuscitation  or reincarnation. Resuscitation is when medical personnel revive someone who has died; while reincarnation is the belief that the soul, or consciousness, can be transferred from one body to another. (From ABC's previews, it looks like the consciousness of the dead has been transferred into bodies that are flawless reproductions of their original bodies.)  

Of course, this is nothing like what we Christians mean when, every Sunday, we say in the Nicene Creed, "I look forward to the resurrection of the dead."  Our Faith is that we will be resurrected in the same manner as Jesus. Jesus was not simply resuscitated; and the body in which He showed Himself to the Apostles was the same one in which He had been crucified.  It was the same body, but "glorified," transformed, raised to a higher state of life.  It does not belong to this fallen world, but is a first glimpse of the new world, the impassible world, to be inaugurated at Christ's return.  That is what we Christians are talking about when we say, "I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come"!  (For those who would like to go deepr, here is a good reflection on the nature of the resurrected body by Monsignor Charles Pope.)

Jesus in the Old Testament, From A to Z

My favorite Easter story has always been when Jesus appeared incognito to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. After listening to them share their disappointment over how His ministry ended and their bewilderment at the news Mary Magdalen and the other women brought about His Resurrection, Jesus took them to task, "'How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!  Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?' And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself" (Lk.24:25-27).  Below are some of the passages our Lord would have showed them:

A.        First Promise of Redeemer (Genesis 3:15)

B.        Melchizedek (Genesis 14:17-20)

C.        Sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22:1-18)

·         Isaac is his “one and only son”

·         Isaac carries the wood for the sacrifice on his own shoulders

·         “God himself will provide the lamb for the sacrifice”

·         A ram is provided instead – a temporary substitute

·         Abraham named that place “The Lord will provide”

·         At some point in Abraham’s future a sacrificial lamb would be provided on that mountain (at the time of Jesus the region wasn’t known as “Moriah” but was the region of Jerusalem)

D.       Celebration of the Passover (Exodus 12:1-3, 6-8, 11-13)

·         Blood on doorposts and lintel (trace sign of cross)

·         Israelites had to EAT the lamb

·         If they didn’t eat the lamb then they would be struck down with the Egyptians

E.        Manna from Heaven (Exodus 16:1-4) / Water from the rock (Exodus 17:3-6)

F.         Sealing the Covenant / Covenant Meal (Ex.24:3-9)

G.       Daily Offering (Exodus 29:28-42)

H.       The Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:18-19)

I.          The Everlasting Kingdom (2 Samuel 7:8-17)

J.          Messiah (Psalm 110:1-4)

K.         “My God, My God” (Psalm 22:1, 7-8, 16-18, 23-28)

·         Jesus’ prayer on Cross

·         Gambling for his garments

·         Pierced hands and feet

·         Saved and offers thanksgiving (eucharist) sacrifice

L.         Resurrection (Psalm 16:8-11)

M.     Third Day (Hosea 6:1-2)

N.        Suffering / Resurrected Servant (Isaiah, Chp.53)

O.       Servant will bring Salvation to Gentiles (Isaiah, 49:5-6)

P.        Messiah to Regather God’s people from Gentiles (Jeremiah 23:3-8)

Q.       New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

R.        New Covenant / Cleansing Water/ Gift of Spirit (Ezekiel 36:24-27)

S.         Messiah to Rule Forever (Ezekiel 37:22-27) 

T.        Those Marked with Sign of Cross will be Saved (Ezekiel 9:2-6)

U.       Guilt of Land removed in a single day (Zechariah 3:8-9)

V.        Look on Him Whom They Pierced / Cleansing Water (Zechariah 12:10; 13:1)

W.     Ruler to be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2-5)

X.        The Messenger/”The Lord” will purify Temple (Malachi 3:1-5)

Y.        Righteous Man (son of God) condemned to torture and death (Wisdom 2:12-20)

Z.        Son of Man (Daniel 7:13-14)

0.34 Seconds - That's All It Takes

0.34 Seconds - the time it takes to blink your eye; that's as quickly as everything can change for the better.  When I prayed the Rosary this morning, I meditated on Jesus' Resurrection, putting myself in his tomb.  One second He was there, wrapped in His shroud.  And in the next second, with a brilliant flash of light, the shroud lay flat on the stone slab; He was gone.  That's how quickly God can change defeat into victory.  

We have little glimpses of this throughout life.  Think of those times when the phone has rang with a surprise invitation, or you ran into someone you hadn't seen in months; or you got an email out of the blue.  One moment everything was moving along as ho-hum as usual and then boom - you're like a rocket shooting into the stratosphere.  Life is not just one long struggle, carrying the Cross up Calvary; it's also shot through with these experiences of the Resurrection -and we never know when the Lord will surprise us next.

What we know for sure is that each second brings us closer to that instant when "we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed" (1 Cor. 15:51-52).

That Tight-Lipped Jesus ...

So here is a stream-of-consciousness post for you.  Stay with me though, there is a point:

On the drive to work today I was praying the Rosary and meditating on the Lord's Resurrection.  I was thinking of the women at Jesus' tomb.  Nothing could have prepared them for the absolute shock of the empty tomb - and definitely not for their encounter with the Resurrected Jesus.  I was struck how you and I are often so completely in the dark about all of the good things that God is doing behind the scenes, completely surprised when they break out into the light.  God seems to work in silence; He doesn't make us privy to His plans - just shocks us with their awesomeness.

Wait, that's not quite right.  Hadn't Jesus told His disciples, over and over, that He would be rejected by the chief priests and elders and be raised on the third day?  Yes, He had; but they didn't understand.  Jesus had told them exactly what was going to happen.  His crucifixion shouldn't have come as a shock - and neither should His Resurrection!

And here is what Jesus says to you and me.  We should listen closely so that we're not caught off-guard:

“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (Jn.16:33).
  
Fore-warned is fore-armed.  We will suffer the Cross.  And if we stay united with Him, we will experience His Resurrection.

Confused By the Accounts of Jesus' Resurrection?

I can understand that.  When you put the Resurrection accounts in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John side-by-side you will notice discrepancies.  (Click one of the above links to open that gospel's account of the Resurrection.)  But these are apparent, and not actual discrepancies.

In the The God Who is Love, I wrote about several of the events that God used to shape my life.  From time to time I felt the need to streamline anecdotes.  There were details that weren't needed to come to my point and I felt that, had I included them, they would have weighed the story down unnecessarily.  (Readers want something that reads smoothly - not a story constantly interrupted to fill in this or that detail or piece of background info.) Everything I wrote was true; but it wasn't as full of an account as I could have written.  That gave me a new appreciation for the way the four gospels narrate the same events from Jesus' life in different ways.

Looking at the four accounts of Jesus' Resurrection, I would like to suggest a chronology for the events of Easter morning that, if kept in the back of your mind, will resolve the apparent discrepancies.  In a nutshell, I think that the women who visited Jesus tomb that morning went back and forth between it and the apostles more than once:

1.    Jesus rose from the dead.
2.    The guards outside the tomb fled.
3.    The women (Mary Magdalene,  Mary the mother of James, Salome, Joanna, and one or more  unnamed women) arrived at the tomb to annoint Jesus' Body, but found it empty.
4.    The women ran to the apostles to alert them that someone had stolen the Body.
5.     Peter and John raced to the tomb, saw the grave wrappings, and left.
6.     The women returned to the tomb and saw angels inside.  The angels announced Jesus' Resurrection.
7.     The women were frightened by the angels' appearance but (possibly after a delay) set out to carry the announcement to the apostles, when Jesus appeared to them.
8.     The women reported all of this to the apostles but were not believed.
9/10 Jesus appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus.  He also appeared to Peter.
11.    Jesus appeared to the apostles and disciples gathered in the upper room.

Each of the gospel writers streamlined these events in different ways - omitted one or more of the numbered events, or omitted one or more characters (human and angelic) in their telling of an event. The accounts do not disagree with each other but each is fragmentary.  None of the gospels claim to give an exhaustive account.  Quite to the contrary; John's Gospel plainly says, "Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (Jn.20:30-31).  

When you listen to the Gospel readings at Easter time, keep the eleven points above in your mind to see if it helps.  I would of course love to hear your thoughts about my stab at reconstructing the sequence of events that first Easter morning.