Monday of Easter Week, April 9, 2007

Scripture: Acts 10:14,22-28. Psalm 16:1-11, Matthew 28:8-15. Lectionary #
261

We are invited during this Easter season to immerse ourselves into the
numerous resurrection appearances of Jesus in the four gospels and the
marvelous chapter 15 of I Corinthians that Paul has given us. Then we are
given the experiences of the first Christian community in Jerusalem in the
selections from the Acts of the Apostles. We may want to identify with the
apostles, the women, and especially put ourselves into the mindset of those
who are specifically mentioned like Peter, James, Mary Magdalene, Joanna,
and Mary the wife of Clopas. Thomas, of course, should not be forgotten!
It will be a journey of faith through these appearances and a work of our
love to enter into them without doubting or quibbling about how different
they are. Unity amidst diversity is their purpose; various religious and
theological perspectives are already offered before there were academies of
theology and religion. And we know that we have primary texts but even
more important pristine experiences of the men and women who loved Jesus
more than they loved themselves. They had resurrection faith and have
shared it with us through the accounts given to us in the New Terstament.
Yes, Jesus is truly risen because of their witness and their profound and
bold faith statements about him. On this Easter Monday, it is Matthew who
presents us with the women disciples running from the tomb to tell the
disciples about the empty tomb. Then they actually meet Jesus who greets
them with his "Shalom" (peace) and tells them to focus on their mission of
going to Galilee with the disciples who will then see him too. We too join
them and listen to Jesus' greeting of peace and warm welcome then telling
us not to be afraid but to believe firmly that he is truly risen from the
dead. Like the women we embrace Jesus in the sacrament of the Eucharist
and we are sent on mission to share his Shalom (his peace) with those whom
we wil live and work with. We too can run with joy while doing this.
Amen. Alleuia.