[media presentation below] GospelThink April 9, Easter JOHN 20:1-9 The apostle whom I loved saw and believed.
Prayerthoughts a. Mary of Magdala was anxious about Jesus and her desire to be with him. Am I anxious in my desire to have the Lord really be part of my life?
b. Mary senses that something is wrong, and immediately goes to someone she trusts for help. Am I willing to share with trusted others in difficult matters in order to have their help?
c. Peter and the beloved Apostle “ran” to the tomb. Do I place a priority on matters of religion in my life the way I should?
d. The other disciple awaits the arrival of Peter before going into the tomb. He obviously senses that the more important should be the first witness. Sometimes I think that I am more important than I should be. Is my pride a problem in my life?
e. The way the burial cloths are placed illustrates a very deliberate and definitive conquest of death. As I think of my own death, am I clearly accepting that the Lord will be active in my life at that time?
f. My prayerthoughts… Today, I will write a prayer promising that my life will be the life of the way a Christian should live.
Some Thoughts on the Liturgy “MESSES” AND HOPE Many of us have things that happened on important days that stand out in our minds. I never can go past an Easter without thinking of an Easter homily by my pastor in West Virginia when I was in high school on vacation from the seminary. I was serving the Mass and the homily or lack of one, really made an impression on me, as it did on everyone in the Church. My pastor started the homily talking about the Resurrection, but almost immediately he broke down, obviously crying and very moved. This went on for about five minutes, trying to talk, then breaking down again. He could see that he was getting nowhere, so he gave up, and went on with the rest of the Mass, gaining control as he spoke the familiar words of the Mass. A number of people gathered around him after Mass to see if he was okay, and he was able to explain what had happened. He had been working with a young college student at West Virginia State, a small college near us. The student had threatened suicide several times. My pastor had been called to him and, over a period of time, they had built up a good relationship. Then on Holy Saturday evening, the day before, the student had lost control and finally succeeded in taking his life. My pastor, as you would expect, was deeply hurt. One of things that is clear whenever we celebrate what might be called “highly positive” feasts like Easter is the sharp contrast of what we celebrate and the negative realities of our world. Jesus’ Resurrection does not change negative realities. – we still have suicides; – we still have tragedies in our own country, often involving young people; – we still have terrorism, dangerous world situations and war; – we still have deaths and personal heartbreaks that can make many people bitter; – we still have the uncontrollable teenager, a spouse that does not care, parents who are old and difficult to take care of; – we still have families in trouble, people not getting along and kids getting hurt; – we still have people in pain who are hurting physically and psychologically. They are negative situations that might be part of our lives right now. I call them “messes.” Every family has a mess. No matter what family we are talking about, there is something that has disrupted the normal process of living. They are situations that people usually have absolutely no control over. They make people cry out, “I don’t deserve this.” “Why can’t my life be normal like everyone else’s?” “Why do these things happen to me?” They are real, and not funny in the least. They are messes, and messes “mess up” everything that is in the immediate area. No amount of soft talk or Christian celebration will ever be able to take them away. To understand these negative realities, I think that it is good to look at our Christian lives as sort of a spiritual battle, a battle between dwelling in the positive with the hope of eternal life as given to us in the Resurrection that we celebrate today. Or dwelling in the negative, allowing the negative realities to dominate our lives and thinking. The way to win the spiritual battle lies not in changing the negative facts because usually we cannot change the facts, but it lies in changing the person who encounters the facts—namely, us. One of the great spiritual truths of all times is very simply: we can change. The message of every Gospel account of the Resurrection: people changed as they understood what Jesus’ Resurrection meant. If we manage to allow Jesus’ Resurrection to dominate our thinking, it gives rise to strong positive thinking, positive thinking that looks at personal tragedies and says: yes, I can deal with these—they are opportunities to grow, to work with life and make it more positive. And, we will change ourselves, and the positive will win the battle.
MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “Sully” — beginning session THE REALITY OF MENTAL PAIN The Gospel MARK 6:47-51 When it was evening, the boat was far out on the sea and Jesus was alone on the shore. Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing, for the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them. But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out. They had all seen him and were terrified. But at once he spoke with them, “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!” He got into the boat with them and the wind died down. They were completely astounded. |
Mental pain has been judged to be even worse than physical pain. Most of the time physical pain will dissipate after some recuperation, but mental pain has a tendency to remain with us. We tend to dwell on it, think of what could have happened, and so forth. It seems the Apostles in Mark’s Gospel account of Jesus walking on water were that way. They were going through an immense amount of mental pain wondering exactly what would happen to them especially at the moment of possible death. “They were terrified,” Mark comments.
Likewise Captain Sullenberger was terrified by what happened to the plane he was in charge of and the split second it took for him to react. He knew about the possibilities of the plane hitting something and both jet engines malfunctioning. He understood the ramifications of an action that he had to initiate. It affected his mental thoughts, perhaps for life, but certainly for the immediate time after his decision was made. He knew that he had to accept what happened, and finally understand that he really did the best that he could have.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a real disease. It has a tendency to affect anyone who has undergone some difficult moment in life. As we study the example of the Apostles and the example of Captain Sullenberger, perhaps two things become apparent. First, there will be an effect on our lives. We must be ready to accept the fact that highly charged moments will have highly charged effects. We simply must make the decision to do something about it. Secondly, following through on the first effect, we must always be willing to reach out to someone who has the means to help us. The Apostles turned to Jesus; Captain Sullenberger turned to his friends and wife.
Our lives are immensely complicated for one reason or another. When we have a tendency to feel it intensely, it will cause an effect that we must be aware of, and willing to deal with it in some way with the help of others.
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