St. Maria Goretti

The one quality that I most hope that none of us ever lose is the possibility of being awed. We were certainly awed a whole lot more when we were kids, but on those rare special occasions, all of us, no matter how old or young we are, can get awed… by God’s incredible creation, by our brothers and sisters on this awesome journey, and even by life itself. We don’t ever want to lose that. Some good friends of mine recently took a family trip to Chicago for spring break. And their youngest child, who also happens to be my Godson, was really excited about the trip. Now, my Godson is four-years-old and pretty much everything awes him these days, but especially the tall buildings in downtown Chicago, and in particular, The Sears Tower. He couldn’t wait to see the Sears Tower. So the first thing the family did when they got to Chicago was go to the Sears Tower. Unfortunately, on the day that they arrived, it was very cloudy and the clouds were very low. So much so, that when you stood outside the Sears Tower, and looked up, the top of the skyscraper disappeared into the clouds. You couldn’t even see the top of the magnificent building. My Godson saw the clouds and the building disappearing into them, and he wasn’t disappointed at all. His parents were disappointed for him, but he just couldn’t wait to get to the top. And on the elevator ride up the tall building, they found out why. My Godson thought if the building was above the clouds, then you must be able to see Heaven, and God, and the angels. Man, did his parents have some explaining to do when they got to the top of that building! That’s when they called his Godfather, the priest. It’s good to be awed, even when you can’t explain it.

Today in our Gospel for this Feast of Easter, Mary Magdalene and Peter and John are awed by what God did in a grave. We don’t know how God did it, or at what exact moment that it happened, or what it looked like when that crucified body came back to life, but everything was different on that Sunday morning. It was sensory over-load: the stone was rolled away, the guards were gone, the burial shroud and the cloth that covered the head were rolled up on the floor, and angels appear and start talking about resurrection. You talk about awe and wonder. Mary thought that she was going to visit the grave of her dead friend. God had other things in mind. Mary and Peter and John would remember that day for the rest of their lives.

My brothers and sisters as we come here today, the same risen God wants to awe you and me. This is not just another day. We can’t just go through our motions and our routines today. Today the Lord Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. And just as He wasn’t dead on that first Easter two thousand years ago, so too He’s still not dead today. Jesus lives. He is risen. We don’t follow a dead Savior. There are some, I’m sure, who prefer that Jesus was still dead. This was also true two thousand years ago. Dead messiahs are a whole lot easier to deal with than living ones. The Risen Jesus won’t leave us alone. The Risen Jesus isn’t going to let us get away with following Him half way. The Risen Jesus won’t sit quietly on the sidelines of our lives and watch us go to Hell. The Risen Jesus wants to raise us up with Him, to eternal life. Today, then, becomes a new beginning. Just as the first Easter was for Mary, and for Peter, and for John, so too today is for all of us, no matter how many Easters we’ve had before. This is a new chance for all of us. Today we stand at the entrance to that empty tomb and we have to decide what to do next. Do we take the good news to others? Do we run away? Do we investigate farther? Do we call the Pope? Do we hunt for Easter eggs, when what we really should be doing is getting the story right? How many of our kids think that this holiday is about bunnies and chocolate eggs, instead of an empty tomb? How many of our adults think that same thing? We’ve got a lot of work to do. What do we do with this experience? We can’t just be awed. How do we let the resurrection change us? How do we take the message out to others?

My Godson thought that the elevator in the Sears Tower was going to show him Heaven. It’s a tall building, but it’s not quite that tall. Jesus is showing us Heaven. He is our elevator, raising us up beyond just what this world can see. He takes us to a new place, a much higher place, where the view really helps us to understand things differently. This Easter let us be awed by God. Let’s be amazed. And let’s get the Good News out to a dying world. Jesus is risen. What are you going to do about it?

From all of us here at St. Maria Goretti, Happy Easter! Have an awesome day. Let Jesus live in you!

God bless us today on this the Greatest Feast, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… AMEN !!!

St. Maria Goretti… Pray for us !!!