Easter Sunday 2010: Look for the Signs of Resurrection

A state trooper sees a vehicle on I-35 near Olathe doing 35 miles an hour and pulls the car to make sure everything is all right. When he approaches the driver he discovers that it is a religious sister who is apparently new to the area.
"Excuse me, sister. But are you alright?" he asked.
She replies, "Oh, yes officer. We're just fine. Was I doing something wrong?"
The officer says, "Well sister, you were traveling way under the speed limit and I was concerned that you might be having car trouble or something."
"But officer", the nun interrupts, "I saw a sign there about a mile back that said 35, and I know I wasn't going any faster than that."
Chuckling, the trooper says, "Sister, that was the Interstate highway route marker, this is I-35, not the speed limit. The speed limit signs have a MPH at the bottom."
"Oh, now don't I feel foolish!" replied the sister, turning red.
"That's ok, but please try to be more careful, I would hate to see you get hurt", finished the officer. Then as he turns to say good-bye to the sisters in the back seat, he notices for the first time that they are quite pale and trembling too. 
"Sister, what is wrong with your friends? Can I escort you to a hospital?"
"Oh, no, they'll be all right. We just turned off of Route 150."

God made Moms: Thoughts from second graders

Why?  She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.

Why did God give you your mom and not some other mom?  We're related.

What kind of a little girl was your mom?  I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.  They say she used to be nice.

Why did your mom marry your dad?  My grandma says that mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

What is the difference between moms and dads?  Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.

What does your mom do in her spare time?  Moms don't do spare time.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?  On the inside she's already perfect.  Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.

Throughout the Sacred Triduum we have explored the paschal mystery, the Father's will that we should gather as a Beloved Community for Eucharist, that we should generously serve one another; we've remember the gift of the ministerial priesthood and the fact that each one of the baptized has been joined to God's priestly people; on Good Friday we affirmed that we have nothing to fear, not even death, and finally today, that truth that Christ will bring all who believe to an absolutely new way of living.

It is not easy to recognize the new thing that God is doing.  It was the Beloved Disciple who peered into the tomb and immediately believed.  He saw the cloth that had covered Jesus' head not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.  Immediately he apprehends that this raising is different than when Jesus brought Lazarus back to life.  That was just a sign of what was to come; when Lazarus came out of the tomb he had to be untied and set free.  No, this setting free was of a different order. Jesus has passed into an entirely different reality.

In John's gospel, neither the empty tomb nor the appearances carry the full meaning of Easter.  Jesus' mission is completed only in his return to the Father and the glory he had "before the foundation of the world." And from his glory Jesus sends the Spirit! 

What is new for us today?  Well, today is new!  Our life is hidden now with God.  Let us look for the signs of resurrection, the places in our lives where God is doing something completely new.  Our baptismal gift is that the mysterious life of God dwells within each of the baptized.  We hold this treasure in earthen vessels.  Resurrection is real and it is just as assuredly elusive.  It may take a while for our Easter miracle to be revealed.  The truth of the matter is that the Easter Event unfolded for those first disciples over many days, weeks, months, even years.  What was certain was that Christ was alive, Christ was present when they gathered for the breaking of the bread, Christ's Spirit empowered them to teach, preach and heal, Christ was doing in them things that they could not and would not do alone.  This is our Easter promise, that with our assent of faith and God's promise of new life, Easter miracles will unfold.  In simple, hidden and ordinary ways we will encounter the Risen Christ today.