Easter Sunday (B)

(Edited) Reflections (from) Easter Sunday, April 16, 2006

"He saw and believed"


There are three characters in the Easter Sunday gospel: Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter, and the other disciple (the one Jesus loved). In this resurrection account of John, it is Mary Magdalene who first witnessed that the stone of the tomb was moved away. And it was she who reported to Simon Peter and John that "they" had taken away the body of Jesus. When Mary mentioned "they", we are not sure to whom she was referring to, but what really is the focus of attention and importance, is the loss of the body of the Lord.

We see that Mary Magdalene's report to Peter and John sent the two "running" toward the tomb. The report of the loss of Jesus' body brought on an urgent response. As the two ran, the gospel tells us that John outran Peter, telling us that John was really much younger than Peter. However, when John arrived at the tomb, he peered and did not enter. It was Peter who went in when he arrived at the tomb. Peter saw the wrappings and the piece of cloth which had covered the head of Jesus. As Peter was examining these, it was then that John entered the tomb. The gospel tells us his response: "He saw and believed".

Three disciples of Jesus: Mary Magdalene, Peter and John. They were told by Jesus that He was to rise from the dead after three days. But they did not as yet understand this and what the Scriptures tell about this. It was the experience of the "empty tomb" that made them respond in different levels of faith to what Jesus taught and what Jesus' person meant to them. Mary's faith was on the level of the senses. Although she knew that Jesus told all of them that He was to rise from the dead after three days, her level of faith could not as yet integrate what her senses perceived. On the other hand, Peter's faith was one that sought understanding. When he entered the tomb and found that Jesus' body was not there, he "observed" the wrappings and the piece of cloth lying there. He wanted to "understand" what this evidences were and what this event-experience was. As to the disciple Jesus loved, we are told that "he saw and believed". John's faith in Christ, since he was closest to Jesus, has reached a level of love. And a faith that integrates the mystery of love, easily understands the mystery of God - especially the mystery of God in Jesus of Nazareth.

All of us are Marys, Peters, and Johns in some way or another, in our journey of faith in the risen Lord. Sometimes, our faith is on the level of the senses like Mary. We say to ourselves, "nothing in the Scripture explicitly says Jesus is risen". The resurrection accounts only describe an empty tomb. Or we may be like Peter who tries to understand and observe everything in the mystery of the empty tomb. Perhaps we may read the biblical context of everything reported about the Resurrection of Jesus and meditate on all the physical evidences and on its meaning - objectively and for ourselves. But, when we have the level of faith as John, whose faith was rooted in his being close to Christ, our contemplation on the mystery of Christ will lead us to exclaim in our hearts: "He is risen".

Good Friday (Year B)

(Edited) Reflections (from) Good Friday, April 10, 2009

First reading: Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 31
Second reading: Hebrew 4:14-16; 5:7-9
Gospel reading: John 18:1 - 19:42

"Now it is finished."

The gospel passage for Good Friday spans two chapters in the gospel of John. It starts with Jesus and His disciples going across the Kidron valley, and then entering a garden in that area. Moving then to the end of the gospel passage, there is another mention of a garden - in which is found an empty tomb for Jesus to be buried. Between the garden at beginning of this gospel and the garden at the end of the passage, are the events of Christ's passion we know by heart. These events are proclaimed in the gospel of Good Friday's liturgy. The dramatization of the events makes the spirit of the liturgy the most solemn day of all days in the liturgical calendar of the Church. The solemnity and deep reverence which the ceremony produces reminds the mass-goer of that law in the heart which God places in each one.

When the part of the gospel says:

"When Jesus took the wine, He said, "Now it is finished. Then he bowed His head, and delivered over His Spirit",

the whole congregation is requested to kneel down in reverence, with each one silently acknowledging in his heart the great self-sacrificing love God has for each and every one in the world.

Jesus had a very short public life. Traditionally, it is said to be three years (with his death at age thirty-three). But it was a public life fully spent at the service of all humanity - in obedience to His Father's will. In those short years, Jesus had healed so many people - from all sorts of ailments and from demonic possession. He has taught and preached so many times - on top of a mountain, before a very large crowd, and most often during simple meal gatherings. And the miracles and wonders He has performed amazed not only His apostles but whole groups of people. And probably His greatest miracle was the raising of Lazarus from the dead.

After that mission of raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus had incurred the enmity of the Scribes and Pharisees. For the people were flocking more to Him and listening more to His teaching. And so it happened as He had predicted. He was betrayed to the Pharisees. He was arrested, scourged and nailed to a cross. In the crucifixion, when the hour Jesus spoke of was to be fulfilled, Jesus said, "Now it is finished". His mission however had not ended there. It continues to this day in our daily lives. As the we await Him buried in the tomb, to rise again on Easter Sunday, all will know that what He "finished", we continue. We continue to proclaim: For God so loved all of humanity and all of creation, that He gave His only Son Jesus, to die on a cross and rise again, that all may realize the need for the light of His resurrection to guide all humanity and the world now till the end of the age.

Passion Sunday (B)

(Edited) Reflections (from:) Passion Sunday March 29, 2009, Year B

First reading: Isaiah 50:4-7
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 22
Second reading: Philippians 2:6-11
Gospel reading: Mark 14:1 - 15:47

"Clearly this Man was the Son of God!"

Passion Sunday (traditionally known as Palm Sunday) begins the holiest week of all the liturgical weeks in the Church's calendar. The gospel for Passion Sunday presents a narration of the events leading to the crucifixion of Jesus. The main events of this Passion are as follows:

• Jesus in the house of Simon with a woman entering and pouring perfume on the head of Jesus
• Judas Iscariot going to the chief priests to hand Jesus over to them
• Jesus celebrating the Last Supper together with His apostles
• Jesus going to the Mount of Olives to pray
• Judas arriving accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs
• Jesus arrested and led off to the high priest
• Jesus accused of blasphemy; and the abuse done on Him by the members of the Sanhedrin
• Peter out in the courtyard and denying Jesus three times before breaking down in tears
• the Sanhedrin sending Jesus to Pilate for interrogation
• Barabbas released in behalf of Jesus who was sentenced by His own people to be crucified
• the soldiers abusing Jesus and mocking Him
• Jesus journeying to Golgotha carrying the cross - with Simon of Cyrene obliged to help Him carry the cross a part of the way
• Jesus crucified and the soldiers rolling dice to gamble for His garments
• two thieves sentenced to die with Jesus, one on His left, and the other, on His right
• Jesus crying out "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?
• Jesus crying out His last breath and the sanctuary's curtain suddenly torn in two - from top to bottom
• a centurion who stood guard exclaimed, "Clearly this Man was the Son of God!
• some women and others who came up from Jerusalem, looked at Jesus from a distance
• Joseph of Arimathea arranging for the proper burial of Jesus

Listening to these events when the gospel is read, or presented as a short dramatization, is a great help in contemplating the great love God has for each one and all He created. The image of Christ crucified on top of any altar - that image of Jesus wounded, suffering, and dying on the cross - is an image that will always have a strong impact on souls. This Crucified image and the events of the Passion will turn many times over in the minds and hearts of those who believe. In the hearts of the faithful is an eternal love that is rooted many centuries ago to a man of God who was born and died on the Cross. And this love knows that the cause of peace on earth will, despite all appearances, be fulfilled. Every Passion Sunday, this nascent truth is sown deep in the hearts of all who attend the Eucharist. It will impress in man's consciousness that there indeed is reason to hope and a reason to live and work for the cause of peace.

Christ's death on the cross is only the beginning of the cause for peace, not the end; it is, after three days, a mark of a glorious beginning. As long as all the faithful never renege on their commitment to Jesus, any death-related situation or event in life will not faze the gift of faith and hope which that commitment inspires. Death will not shock or shake anyone as long as man's context of meaning in life and work is always seen in the context of the Passion of Jesus. For the believer knows that Christ's passion and death is what will lead Him and all who believe in Him to the glory of His resurrection.

This beginning of Holy Week then is a time to pray more and learn how the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God, will continually give meaning to our life and also inspire those who do not yet believe. It is a time to give more time also for the needy. For they are clothed in the appearance of Christ's Passion. It is a time to listen, to keep still, and to let the spirit of the Season sink deeply into each heart and soul. It is a time to reflect and to imagine: if you place yourself in that "hour" with Jesus and His apostles, using your imagination - what would you think and do? Would you run and hide like the apostles? Would you be with the others from Jerusalem who looked at Jesus from the distance? Or would you be one of those who kept all that happened in their minds and hearts, and retold the story to others that they may believe?