Easter has arrived! I bet you all feel the way I do about Easter. I always love our commemoration of Lent and of celebration of Holy Week and the Easter season each year. But with what we have gone through this past year, Easter has special significance. Most of us are weary about dealing with pandemic. To be sure, we are weary of wearing our masks. I am weary of struggling with my mask with all the Masses. We are ready to go back to all the activities we enjoy. You all know how much I enjoy traveling and hiking. I am ready to get back to everything I have had to put on hold.
But, I think of the blessings and joys we have experienced in the midst of the struggles and harsh reality of the pandemic. I think of the St Jude staff and the volunteers that have made our drive-in Masses and streaming of our Masses possible. I think of the smiling faces I get at the end of our drive-in Masses. I think of the small faith groups and faith formation groups that meet through ZOOM regularly. I think of all the ways we have kept our faith alive in our hearts, in our lives, and in our families. Those blessings reflect the joy of the resurrection.
We have had to make sense of a new reality this past year in the midst of a pandemic. This is a reality that none of us expected. In this past year, a lot of us have been afraid of what we see. Often, we cannot make sense of this new reality. I think of Mary Magdala in our Gospel today, of what she experienced on Easter morning. She goes to the tomb early in the morning before sunrise. She is astounded to find the stone moved from the entrance of the tomb, then finding the tomb empty. She wonders: what is going on? What has happened to our Jesus? Has someone stolen his body? Even though she is confused, in an act of faith, Mary of Magdala tells some of the other disciples about what she witnessed. When the others see the empty tomb and the burial cloths scattered about, they are confused and perplexed. However, the beloved disciple starts to make sense of the situation. He is able to see and believe. It is significant to note that the belief in the resurrection of these first disciples does not stem from the actual appearance of the resurrected Jesus, but rather such belief developed from what was first reported to them, from the way they interpreted their experience of the empty tomb.
Jesus has risen from the dead! We celebrate his resurrection this Easter weekend.
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