Easter Light

~~~ Easter Sunday~~~

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 10:34A, 37-43 ~~~ Psalm 118 ~~~

~~~ Colossians 3:1-4 ~~~ John 20:1-9 ~~~

This is the day the Lord has made; 

let us rejoice and be glad.

The Light we seek is the 

Light of the Glory of the Resurrection.

We long for this light...we desire its illumination...

we hope to claim it for our eternity.

The Risen Jesus is the blinding glory

of the salvation promise.

Allow all the Glory of the Resurrection

envelope you...allow it to cleanse you.

Bask in this Glory of the Resurrection

for this is our hope.

We hope to one day to be joined 

with Jesus in all of his Light.

The tomb is empty.

The Light of the Resurrection fills all.

The tomb simply appears to be empty. 

The physical body of Jesus is no longer needed.

Jesus is now present to us in the Eucharist

each time we come to His table.

We approach to receive a sliver of His Resurrected entity.

A sliver, a fracture is all it takes to share

 in the experience of His Resurrection.

Allow the Easter Light 

of His Resurrection be enough to heal

your heart, body, and soul.

God is enough...

He always was...always is...always will be.

Easter is all the evidence I need

to believe in life everlasting.

This is the day the Lord has made; 

let us rejoice and be glad.

Roll back the stone from your heart.

Shed the ritual burial garments.

Soak in the light of the presence of the glory 

of the Resurrection.

Sing 

Alleluia, Alleluia!

Light has overcome the darkness.

There is no greater gift...

Love does indeed conquer all.

~~~Easter Blessings~~~

PEACE

He Calls Her Name

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 2:36-41 ~~~ Psalm 33 ~~~ 

~~~ John 20:11-18 ~~~

Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?

Whom are you looking for?”

At first Mary is not aware that Jesus is outside the tomb.

She bends over to look inside where she 

finds two angels keeping watch.

They ask her why she is crying.

She was probably shocked by what she

 saw and even more shocked by their question.

We understand why she is crying

 because we can identify with her loss.

We too have wept at the loss of a loved one.

Usually no one asks us why we are crying 

unless they do not know what happened.

The two angels had no reason to weep.

They knew that Jesus was no longer among the dead.

The angels knew that Jesus was not bound by the burial cloths.

The angels had knowledge that Mary was soon to discover.

Earlier during the public ministry of Jesus the disciples

 tell him 'everyone is looking for you'.

Now Jesus wants to know who Mary is looking for...

You almost feel like saying,

 Duh, Jesus, she is looking for you.

She looks where she assumed his body

 would be...within the tomb.

When you are upset you are also not thinking clearly.

Mary does not recognize 

Jesus until he calls her by name.

She knows his voice.

He has spoken to her by name on many occasions.

His voice has not changed but his Risen body

 is completely changed.

Jesus said to her, “Mary!”

She turned and said to him in Hebrew, 

“Rabbouni,” 

which means Teacher.

Sometimes we look for Jesus where we think

 he is only to discover he is not there.

We then must believe that he is still near to us.

Jesus was not far from the tomb.

He was not yet gone.

The tomb was empty;

the glorious Jesus was much greater 

than the darkness.

Mary's tears were quickly replaced 

with wild smiles of happiness.

She must have been so excited 

that she raced to tell the others the good news.

When was the last time you were super

 excited about something?

Try to relive that experience today.

Transfer it to the joy of the Resurrection.

Some day we will experience 

our own resurrection with the Lord.

Oh what a grand day that will be for us

even though our loved ones will be weeping over our loss.

The Easter Joy is about the Goodness of the Lord.

He Blesses us in this joy for our faith.

Alleluia, Jesus is Alive!

~~~Peace~~~

Alleluia, He is Risen!

~~~ Easter Sunday ~~~

~~Acts of the Apostles 10:34a, 37-43~~Psalm 118~~Colossians 3:1-4~~John 20:1-9~~

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.

This is the day of the Lord...the day of resurrection.

This is the day the Lord conquered death for us.

It is truly a day of rejoicing.

Do you find it curious that we use the empty tomb as a sign of joy.

No one actually witnessed the Resurrection of Jesus.

It is his very absence that signifies his resurrection.

I can only imagine how difficult

 it was to let Jesus go after all they had seen him accomplish.

They did not understand and today they are left with emptiness.

Saint Paul tells us Jesus emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.

Jesus has once again emptied himself of his human body.

He must be emptied to be raised from death.

His Resurrection is Light, Life, Freedom.

We are invited to enter into the Joy of the Empty Tomb.

He is the Resurrection and the Life.

Believe that you too may be raised up with him to eternal life.

Blessed with the Joy of Easter!!!

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

The Empty Tomb of Life Everlasting

~~~ Easter Sunday ~~~

 

~~Acts of the Apostles 10:34a, 37-43~~Psalm 118~~ Colossians 3:1-4~~John 20:1-9~~

 

Jesus Christ is Risen today,

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

 

 

Let us rejoice and be glad this is the day the Lord has made.

Today is the reason we remain faithful to our commitment

to allow Christ to live in us.

He is our all and all.

It is in Him that we live, and move and have our being.

 

Today we renew our Baptismal promises to renounce Satan and his evil power.

We renew our belief in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Today we proclaim our believe in the Resurrection...

not just the Resurrection of Jesus

but also our own resurrection.

 

Jesus is truly alive...the stone has been rolled back form the tomb.

The tomb is empty because nothing can contain the Resurrection.

The burial cloths are neatly folded and left behind...

Death has been overcome the things of this world are no longer necessary.

 

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

 

The reality of the empty tomb is shocking

yet filled with hope for all those who follow Jesus.

This includes you and me.

It is the empty tomb that first signifies the Resurrection of the Lord...

the Messiah...the Redeemer.

He brings life to its fullest through his death.

Out of his death comes our eternal life.

We have been born into Christ so too must we share in his death.

Through his death we are granted life everlasting.

 

 

The empty tomb becomes the tomb of hope.

The hope we hold close to our hearts of life with the Lord.

When a loved one dies we often sense tremendous emptiness

without their physical presence.

Let us find hope in the empty tomb of Our Lord.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

The Beloved Speaks

~~~ 1 John 1:1-4 ~~~ Psalm 97 ~~~ John 20:1a, 2-8 ~~~

 

John is almost giddy with eagerness to share

what he has seen with his own eyes

and heard with his own ears.

 

'...for the life was made visible;
we have seen it and testify to it
and proclaim to you the eternal life...'

 

Just two days after celebrating the Nativity we are at the empty tomb

with those who loved Jesus the most.

The reality that life and death are connected is here before our eyes.

 

Why are we at the empty tomb?

Because our faith is based on the Resurrection of Jesus.

His birth was necessary for him to complete the Father's will...

to be raised from the dead.

 

The birth of Jesus set into motion the breaking of the chains of death.

Without the birth the Resurrection could not have taken place.

 

It is beautiful that we have the writings of John this week;

he was Jesus' beloved friend.

He loved Jesus very much but when he reached the tomb

that morning he could not make himself go inside.

For a moment the reality of the death of his friend paralyzed him.

 

It took fearless Peter to actually enter into the tomb.

It was Peter who saw the burial cloths folded neatly

inside the tomb.

More importantly it was the cloth placed upon the face of Jesus

that they discovered neatly folded.

 

A grave robber would not have taken the time

to tidy the burial cloths.

 

The folded napkin is very significant in the Hebrew culture.

Having been raised as a faithful Jew, Jesus would have known

the meaning of the folded napkin.

Using this tradition Jesus symbolically represents his completion

of the Father's will by folding this cloth that had covered his face.

His true Divine identity was now being revealed.

 

Traditionally the folded napkin signaled to the servant

that the master was not finished

and planned to return to the table.

The servant would not begin to clear the table

as long as the napkin was left folded.

 

Jesus, by folding this cloth, was indicating to his friends that he was

coming back. This is what his Resurrection was about...his return.

The folded cloth signified that Jesus was in control

of death giving us the gift of eternal life.

 

Jesus allowed himself to be born tiny and fragile....helpless.

He allowed himself to be nailed to the cross...helpless.

Now the emptiness of the tomb and the folded facial cloth,

declares that he will no longer be

under the control of others.

 

 

Jesus is the Victor over Death.

 

John was filled with such immense joy.

He had to write down all that he had witnessed;

thus preserving these great events for future generations of believers.

For when we read these glorious accounts

we are encouraged in our beliefs...

our faith is reinforced.

Our Redemption Journey has begun!

From Death into Life

Acts of the Apostles 10: 34a, 37-43 ~~~ Psalm 118 ~~~ Col. 3:1-4 ~~~ John 20: 1-9

He is Risen!

Let's return to the morning after...I am sure that Mary and those who loved Jesus got very little sleep after witnessing his barbaric death. I know from personal experience if I am upset about something how difficult it is to sleep. Your mind is working over time thinking about possibilities or solutions.

They had no time to properly prepare the body because of the Jewish feast beginning at sundown. They were not allowed to stay at the burial site and keep watch. 
The body of Jesus was laid in the tomb and left alone.

We are never alone when we have Jesus inside our heart.

The tomb was dark, he was wrapped tightly as a baby is swaddled. His arms and legs held close to his body. Swaddling makes a baby feel secure. Jesus was secure in knowing that it was finished, he had completed the will of the Father.

"...while it was still dark..."

Mary and the others returned to the tomb before dawn. The earth lay cloaked in darkness until Jesus was raised and released from the dark tomb. His glory broke forth like the new day's dawn.  The first ray of sunlight pierces the dark sky breaking open the new day.
The resurrection of Jesus dispels all sin and darkness. For he ushers in the eternal light of Salvation. We shall no longer walk in darkness.

Word spread as the rays of sun danced across the horizon proclaiming the empty tomb. The stone rolled back, the swaddling cloths neatly left behind. The separate cloth covering his face carefully set aside. Those who came saw and believed though they did not fully understand the scriptures.

Raised from dead; he now sits at the right hand of the Father
where they reign in glory as one.

As we celebrate the Resurrection let us joyfully sing Alleluia,
just as we joyfully sang the Gloria at his birth.

For we cannot have one without the other; life and death are part
of the great Circle of Life.
Today we are given confirmation of life after death in the kingdom of God.