Easter Sunday what we know
Andrew was lost in the desert, his water bottle dry. He saw a small hut in the distance. The place was abandoned, but he spied a water pump. It didn’t work.
In the hut he found a bottle of water, a pencil and piece of paper that said, “Please use this water to start the pump. It works. After you finish, do not forget to refill the bottle again.”
“Will the pump work if I use this water? Can I trust the words in the paper? If it is false, then my last source of water will be gone.”
He paused, closed his eyes, and prayed. Then he poured the water into the pump and pumped it. Soon he heard a bubbling sound, and water started pouring out. Relieved, he drank and filled his bottle. Refreshed, he refilled the bottle.
He looked around and saw a pencil and a map explaining the direction to the nearby village. On the paper, beside the bottle, he added a note: “Have faith. It works.” Then he left the hut. (Faith short stories).
Easter Sunday is a glorious day for us, a glorious realization of who we are and where we are going. A day to reminisce about our faith story, how we share that story and give directions to others.
Easter morning and the disciples do not know where Jesus is. Mary Magdala is going to the tomb to anoint his body. She does not know. You and I know! We know she will encounter Jesus. We know that he will appear to the disciples later. We know about the Emmaus story.
What else do we know? Jesus will appear to the disciples again when Thomas is with them. Jesus will eat with the disciples along the seashore. Jesus fills the disciples’ boat with fish after they caught nothing all night. “Feed my sheep!” he tells Peter.
Jesus met the disciples on a mountain and promised them the Holy Spirit. Jesus appeared to more than 500 brethren. He appeared to James and his half-brother Saul who receives his conversion on the Road to Damascus and goes on to become the most zealous disciple.
All this we know on Easter Sunday. What do we know on the next Sunday and the Sundays after that? And on Trinity Sunday, and on Pentecost Sunday? We know that we are sinners and that Jesus loves us. We know that Jesus rose from the dead and that we will rise from the dead. We know that death is not the end, but the beginning.
As we journey on through our days, what else do we know? We know that we need to be faithful to the church Jesus established through Peter. We know that we need to be show up for our daily prayers, our weekly worship, and ever to seek the faith, hope and love that will help us be like Jesus.
There is an urgency to the season following Easter. The Church is feeling it in the empty pews on Sunday mornings. We are feeling it in the lives we live often separated from the embrace of Jesus. The great feasts of the Ascension and Pentecost and Trinity Sunday are passing us by.
Jesus continues to break through the curtain separating us from heaven. The greatest gift he left with us, to sustain us, is his very life in the Eucharist. The heart of humankind continues to search, often not knowing what to expect. Our call is simple: feed my sheep!
(590 words)
