RBWords - Volume 25 - Number 4: April 2012
Something to Think About
I find myself wondering today, Monday in the fourth week of Easter, how many of my readers are still celebrating Easter? I think if I asked, some might say, “Wasn’t that April 8th? 22 days ago? I’m still trying to get over it or pay for it!” Maybe someone might suggest, “Isn’t Easter really the end of Lent, when I could sigh with relief over the first Martini or piece of chocolate in 40 days (not counting Sundays)?” Why is the church liturgical calendar still celebrating long after all the ceremonies are over and the Easter bonnets and dyed eggs and that eternal, infernal artificial Kelly green grass have disappeared, and the chocolate bunnies consumed with the usual consequences? Some pastors may be sighing over the necessity to preach on portions of the Gospel of John with all the seemingly abstract phrases. Even the joyful shout of “Alleluia!” returns to the dial-tone way lectors usually pronounce it!
It IS very challenging to keep up the celebration if one does not look at the daily scriptures that are given for the Eucharist. Even if one goes to Mass daily, the continual accounts of the early church in the Acts of the Apostles can seem like ancient history. And the language from the Gospel of John seems to float somewhere “out there.” I think, however, the effort to “get into” these scriptures is very worthwhile. For those of you who receive my daily “Word to the Wise,” you have my own efforts to understand what the Easter celebration is about. We do celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord EVERY Sunday (Do we really?) but Easter is the time that special attention is focused on this event. The Acts of the Apostles can convey the excitement of those early preachers. The Gospel of John can focus our attention on the person of Jesus in such a way that even rush hour traffic seems to fade to insignificance. I learned this from listening to CD’s on that gospel by Fr. Felix Just, SJ, a former student parishioner of mine! From all this, you could gather that I want to encourage my readers to persevere in the celebration. There’s more to come: the Ascension and Pentecost! I know there is such a thing as “celebration-fatigue,” but the Holy Spirit will help us with that! IT’S SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.
It Has Been Said
“The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all.”
From the Acts of the Apostles 4:32-34