Introduction to the Liturgy of the Day

Introduction to the Liturgy of the Word

Reflections

• The disciple whom Jesus loved is a model for all of us, for he believed before he understood. After all, the Resurrection is an event beyond human understanding. Science and logic cannot explain the mystery that is fully known to God alone. But this doesn’t mean that the mystery hasn’t been revealed to us at all. Jesus revealed glimpses of the mystery throughout his mission. He raised up those who were put down or shut out by society, whether by sin, disability, or disrepute—those whom others were unwilling to engage. He raised the girl thought dead and Lazarus, four days in the tomb. He repeatedly told his disciples that he himself would be raised on the third day. The disciple Jesus loved could not explain what happened, but he believed that it was true.


• Again and again over the last three years we have longed for a return to normal, a return to what it was like before COVID-19. It is an understandable sentiment, considering the difficult changes and traumatic losses we’ve suffered in our everyday lives. But let Saint Paul’s words to the Corinthians point us in a different direction. “Clear out the old yeast,” he told them, “so that you may become a fresh batch of dough” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Easter does not point us to the past, but to the future. The Resurrection is not a resuscitation, but a transformation. The disciples did not return to their lives from three years before, to fishing and collecting taxes and hanging around Galilee. No, their lives were transformed. Filled with the Holy Spirit, they preached the gospel and made disciples of all nations. In them, new yeast rose.

• Where were all the other disciples besides Mary of Magdala, Peter, and John? Quite possibly they were in hiding, fearful that they could be prosecuted and jailed (or worse) if they were identified as friends of the agitator whom the authorities had just crucified. Locked in their hiding places, they were nearly as entombed as Jesus had been. They needed to be raised as well. God raised Jesus from the dead, then also soon raised the disciples from their self-imposed tombs. Once raised, they were able to continue Jesus’ mission, preaching the gospel, baptizing the eager, and making disciples of all nations. This is our challenge as well. We may not be in hiding, but we may be overwhelmed by the darkness that envelops our world. In the face of violence and discord, illness and death, we may feel that the dawn will never come. We look to our God who raises the dead, the disciples in their hiding-place tombs as well as the literally dead, to restore us to life, to restore us to living.
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Question of the Week

How has my life been transformed since three years ago? What can I make new in my life, in my community, in the world?

-from Pastoral Patterns

LISTEN HERE to the Audio Recordings of the Readings of Sunday, April 9, 2023

SELECT HERE for the Readings of Sunday, April 9, 2023

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