4th Easter: Re-Reading our Gospels and finding more

There are some books that we race through and will read within a day or two; and there are others we will take a long time to get through. Often the distinction is this, the quick reads are fun reads, great characters and a plot that moves fast. There is not too much depth to them, but still good reads nonetheless. I can think of Tom Clancy novels, and such.

The slow reads, well there is depth to them. There are nuances to them, depth of characters and plot that need to be considered. The language and vocabulary are gorgeous, maybe even challenging. There is a story that needs to be understood, a story that to understand we must sit with it. They evoke an emotional response. These are books we will read and reread again and discover new insights. These could be those classic novels, or Russian authors, Shakespeare, or Spiritual books.

The Liturgical Season of Easter, all 50 days of it, provides us the opportunity to contemplate the mystery of Jesus’ Paschal Mystery, his life, death and resurrection.

This is a slow read for us as Catholics. We do not rush through this time, but for these 50 days we are encouraged to contemplate what Jesus’ resurrection means for us, to engage in the story of Jesus’ paschal mystery, and how we can experience it. It is also 50 days of celebration!

We know the basics of the story; (Spoilers) Jesus died through human sinfulness; Jesus was killed by humanity’s ignorance, fear, grasp for power, et al. God the Father raised him from the dead, and wonderfully gave him back to us.

Here is where the story really begins.

Those initial weeks after Easter, we had stories of Jesus’ resurrection appearances that took place after the event. When he appears in the upper Room, and appears on the Road to Emmaus. Mary Magdalene encounters him too. Great stories of the disciples rush to understand, to make sense of this incredible event. We get the core values of forgiveness, reconciliation, hope, peace…

Now though we get look backs into the Gospels, before the death and resurrection. We now reread and reconsider those events in view of the Resurrection. We re-read the Gospels with the Paschal Mystery in mind, and gain new insights.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Jesus guides us to the Father, so that in the Father we will experience that Divine Love that heals and sustains us; so that we can experience life in its fullness.

Jesus guides us to the Father who desires our reconciliation, who forgives us our sinfulness so that we can be free to engage in living life. We know this because the Father forgave the execution of his Son, revealed in the resurrection.

Jesus the Good Shepherd, so loving of the Father and of us; willingly gave of his life so that we can know and experience the love of the Father.

Jesus the Good Shepherd reveals we are God’s children; not just a select group, but all of us.

All marvelously revealed in that resurrection, by which we know of God’s great love for us, the Father’s willingness to forgive us, even for the execution, the murder of his Son.

The disciples understood this. This changed them. They lived differently. They began to live as freed Persons, full of that divine love, and able to heal and reconcile others in the name of Jesus. So in love, so empowered by Jesus’ death and resurrection, that they went into the world to share this Good News.

See, the resurrection is way more than about us getting into heaven and getting new bodies some day. It is about living life now, it is about living in God’s love now; it is about being raised into a new way of living now.

The more we open ourselves to this mystery of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and allow our minds, hearts and souls to grow, the more we live.

That resurrected life is one in which we heal, we forgive, we show compassion and mercy.  The resurrected life we live is one in which we live humbly and give of ourselves for the good of others; in all its forms and wonders.

I have seen people embrace Jesus’ Paschal Mystery, his suffering, death and Resurrection, embrace the fuller meaning and be changed. I have seen people be able to forgive others and be freed from their anger and hate. I have seen spouses build stronger marriages because they gave of themselves to the other and to the family. I have watched men make a transition into life giving priests, not focussed on authority, but on service.

All because through Jesus, they have been guided into a different way of living, a different way of seeing others; a different way of experiencing God.

The story continues for us. We have more of the story of Jesus’s resurrection to contemplate. We have a couple of weeks of Easter yet, the Feast of the Ascension and finally Pentecost.

Take advantage of this time, don’t rush through it, don’t ignore it either. It is a rich time, a gift time that God has given to us. A time to go deeper into the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.