Reflection for April 17, 2006: Monday in the Octave of Easter.
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Authors
Schuler, Jeanne
Issue Date
2006-04-17
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Essay
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en_US
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Abstract
Easter Stories||After he died, the loneliness was dreadful. |All the familiar places felt empty. |Least lonely was his tomb.| So the women slipped past the guard to sit on the rocks, gazing sadly at his body.|It was a shock. Even the guards were amazed. A figure radiant gave them the news.|He is gone. He lives. Do not be afraid. Tell the others.|They hurried from the cave. On the road they met him and embraced him. The man they loved.|You didn't leave them alone for long. How would they figure it out without your help? You always were their teacher. Once again you showed them who they were. They are the ones who witness to the resurrection. You didn't return as ghost or a soul. You stood in their midst, shared meals, and took away their fear one more time.|There are many Easter stories.|For the chief priest and elders, Easter was a headache. Another crisis to manage. Rehearse the story about the stolen corpse. Pay the guards.|For the Greeks, the cross was a scandal. The resurrection is worse. Someone who refuses to be released from the cursed body. Someone so convinced of the goodness of this world that he won't flee.|And our Easter story?|For many of us, death is the ultimate certainty. This life will end. Dying is the inescapable finale, whether defeat or release.|We are followers who struggle to learn.|Greater than the loss of death is the power of life.|In the resurrection, souls don't split off from bodies; death isn't divided from life; presence isn't swallowed up by absence. We are not abandoned.|We were ready to take memories, stories, achievements, children, or DNA for our immortality. But you would not stay buried. In the resurrection, you live in our midst.|You show us that the paths of life stretch farther than death.
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University Ministry, Creighton University.
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These reflections may not be sold or used commercially without permission. Personal or parish use is permitted.
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Lectionary number: 261