Easter - Cycle A - Cycle B - Cycle C
Lord!
You have
rescued me
and not allowed
my enemies to
rejoice over me!"
-Psalm 30
Jesus' love, while bringing him many friends and followers, also brought him much pain and suffering, "even death, death on a cross," as Saint Paul would say. But Jesus endured it. Jesus loved through the pain and suffering of his passion and death. Jesus loved when everyone abandoned him and when it even seemed that the Father had left his side. Jesus loved when they tormented him and teased him as he hung on the cross. Jesus loved until his last breath. That love transformed Jesus and was what gave him power over death. Love is who Jesus is. It is the Divine Love of Jesus - that transforming power - which we are called to live today and always.
We hear in the Acts of the Apostles that loving in such a way as Jesus did does not bring with it an easy ride. We will not experience heaven on earth all the time if we follow Jesus. As Paul and Barnabas said, "we must undergo many trials if we are to enter into the Kingdom of God." Jesus had his cross. The apostles were persecuted and martyred. We will have our own crosses and our own moments when we feel abandoned and lifeless. But all of the experiences that come from living the love of Christ are transforming experiences. They are moments of conversion. They are moments of God's grace.
If we are called to be a people of the Resurrection, then we are to strive to love one another each day in the same way Christ loved us. This is not an impossible mission. Rather it is one that we must make new everyday of our lives. Loving one another is a new way of living. If we do this, we can join with the Father in, "making all things new."
Peace,
Shaun Lowery
Easter - Cycle A - Cycle B - Cycle C