The Lord Walks With Us Always, Even If We Don't Recognize Him

Dear Friends:

Today the Word of God tells us that on the day Jesus rose from the dead, two discouraged followers were walking to Emmaus, a village about seven miles from Jerusalem. Along the road, they talked to each other about the death of Jesus. As they discussed what happened, Jesus caught up and walked with them - but the passage tells us that the two didn't recognize him. I have no doubt that given all we have been through in these last two months, walking on our road of life has been very difficult.  We have seen panic, anxiety and stress.  We have seen homeless, jobless, and hopeless.  We have seen sickness, sadness and even death. But in all this, have we seen the Lord? Some may ask, but how do we recognize the Lord - especially in the midst of all this bad stuff going on all around us? Historically, God showed himself in stages. First, he showed goodness through creation. Then, he showed his patience in his covenant with Noah after the flood. Then he chose a people of his own through Abraham and his descendants. Then he showed his people his will through the Law that he gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. And then he drew his people back to himself in the voices and challenges of the prophets. But, in the end, God wanted to show everyone himself. He did that in Jesus. Jesus is the Word of God born into the world. When we see Jesus, who he was and what he did, we see God. In Jesus, we see God alive and working.

I'm betting that just like those ancient disciples who were walking on the road with the Lord and did not recognize him, so too recently on our road, the Lord has been walking with us and we have not recognized him either.  If we look just a bit more closely, perhaps we might have seen him in the FaceTime with a friend, or the calming message from a relative, or email that reminded us that we are not alone. Perhaps we have seen him in the care and safety offered in shelters, or the outreach for a new job opportunity, or the simple prayers of our children. 

Perhaps we have seen him in the heroic work of nurses and doctors and all healthcare workers, or the smile of the grocery store clerk or the postal worker, or the comforting words of the priest livestream or at the moment of death.

Even in these days, we are reminded that God made us to seek him for our happiness and peace. When we see Jesus, we find God. And we can see Jesus in the words and actions of his followers today - those countless men and women who are here with us, offering us hope and consolation at every step of our road.  

On that road to Emmaus, they all walked together. And Jesus told them what the Bible said about him dying and rising from the dead. At the urging of the men, Jesus stayed and went inside with them. When they sat down to dinner, Jesus took some bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the two men. Now, they could recognize Jesus!  Perhaps today, despite some who may believe that the Lord has gone on without us, let's invite him, into our home, into our prayer, into the lessons with our children, into our work, into the deepest parts of our lives ... for then and only then will our hearts be burning with his love and his joy, and then, nothing else will matter. Peace! RSM

Seizing the Opportunity to be a Disciple

Dear Friends:

On Easter Sunday, we celebrated Christ's Resurrection from the dead. Death itself could not keep our Lord from us; the tomb could not contain nor isolate his love.

In our Scriptures this Sunday, we read that it is fear that stands between the disciples and the Lord. We hear that on the evening of the day of the resurrection, the disciples gathered together in a room with locked doors, "for fear of the Jews". It was this fear that had caused them to flee on the night of his arrest.

Today, many years later we may be experiencing some of that same fear - not of those of the ancient world who were averse to Jesus and his message - but fear of the virus and perhaps even of sickness and death itself. Just as then the tomb could not keep Jesus in and the locked doors could not keep him out, we experience the same phenomenon.

As Jesus comes and stands in their midst, he says, "Peace be with you!" Even behind our locked doors today, even in our quarantine and isolation, he says the same. His resurrection brings us many gifts, not the least of which is peace. 

Although these weeks have been difficult, and anxiety producing for many of us, I believe that we are starting to see glimmers of hope; conversations about antibody testing, planning for the eventual re-opening of society, reduced hospital admissions and lessening of the burdens of those who have cared for the sick and dying. These are instruments of his peace - meant for you and me.

In the readings this Sunday, after Jesus gives the disciples his peace, he then gives them a mission: "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." Freed from their fear, the disciples are then called to bring his peace to others.  You and I are called to do the same!

Please take a moment this week to reach out to someone, particularly someone who may be sick, elderly, living alone, or someone prone to worry and anxiety. Talk with them. Pray with them. Use the grace in your heart to give them the peace of the Lord.

This Easter season will give us many opportunities to be his disciples. Seize them because the world needs us more now than ever!

Blessings!

RSM    

Easter Blessings

Dear Friends:

Christ is Risen!

Perhaps at very few other times in history have we ever needed to hear those very reassuring words. With so many of our brothers and sisters across the globe facing sickness, isolation, and even death, the foundational principle of our faith needs to be shouted from the mountain tops and perhaps even from our windows!

Christ is Risen!

The resurrection of Christ is the principle of new life for every man and every woman, for true renewal always begins from the heart. And while some of us may still find ourselves in the tomb of darkness, there are surely signs of hope, recovery and life all around us.

Christ is Risen!

Easter this year, more than so many others before, gives us a new starting point, and turns our compass to God, who sets us free from fear, anxiety, stress, and all those things that prevent us from truly living as God desires.

Christ is Risen!

While we are surely not out of the woods yet, and there will be plenty of rebuilding to do, we do so with a renewed hope. May the Risen Christ, who flung open the doors of the tomb, open wide our hearts to the needs of those around us who are suffering most.

Christ is Risen!

He is the hope for each of us and for the entire world. May we let ourselves be renewed by Him! And let our work of rebuilding now begin.

Wishing you a Blessed Easter! -Fr Bob