My friends, during this past week with the experience of traveling to, and seeing the total eclipse of our sun by our moon, a phenomenon that can only happen at certain times and places because the ratio of size, one to another, and the distance between the two being, “just right” as to make this possible; I found that this particular experience fits well into the mystery of the Easter Season. Let me explain.

   I have often spoken about Jesus’ human experience being more about letting us know how much our God loves us than about the “old theology” of Jesus’ coming to “save us from our sins.”  Simply put, Jesus’ coming and living our human existence was really about showing us “the way” to do this well—in other words, attempting to be our best.  And when more people than not, are in fact, attempting to be their best, life is really better for everyone. 

   So, above, as I suggested, that what we experienced in the total eclipse of the sun by the moon, fits well into the Easter mystery, I need to tell you in a bit more detail, exactly what we experienced. 

   We knew that we wanted to pick a spot, and for us, this was near the Illinois/Indiana border, where we would be alone so as to hear all the sounds, and lack of sounds during a total eclipse.  From a previous experience of total darkness during an eclipse in 2017, we knew that birds and other creatures react to this phenomenon of nature in certain ways.  And such was the case this time too.  As the light became “dusky” at near totality at 2pm in the afternoon, frogs in the area ponds began to croak as they usually do at nightfall, and the birds that had been singing, ceased their song. 

   At totality there was the “diamond flash” that we have all heard about and the circle of light around our “black” moon, and total darkness across the land except for the light on the horizon over 50 miles away.  It was an awesome, emotional experience for us that we will never forget, witnessing these stellar shapes that regulate our very existence, so beautifully—in a way, we might say—being a piece of their best selves!  The 2017 eclipse that we experienced, while wonderful, happened for us in a cloudy sky, so the view wasn’t as spectacular as this 2024 one was for us! 

   And then there was the fact that so many traveled, as we did, 100s of miles to witness and experience this awesome event!  Our trip home took considerably longer as we experienced a 100-mile section where we were bumper-to-bumper—cars out front and behind us as far as the eye could see.  One might look at this and be irritated, but we finally realized that it was part of the experience, and it wasn’t able to “extinguish” what we had experienced in the eclipse. 

   The ability my friends, to rise above our day-to-day, often mundane lives, looking for the profound in the ordinary is what truly makes us “Easter people.”  We can get stuck in the “salvation story” of Jesus being sent by a vengeful God to make reparation for our sinful lives, and when, this God, “He” does, we can sing, “alleluia,” or we can rise above our earthly existence to see the glory of our loving God in celestial creations, in our family members and friends, and in the love of our God for us—in sending Jesus who has shown us the way to become our best selves. 

   All the readings today carry that overall theme of “being our best selves” –basically telling us that this should be our personal life’s work. John’s 1^st letter selection today says it well, and I paraphrase, [God’s love comes to perfection in the person who obeys God’s words]. Peter, in his words in Acts, recounts for his listeners how they have failed in the past, and he basically forgives them for what he names as their, “ignorance,” and encourages them now, to begin again, and to become their best.  He goes on to tell them that if they do this, “all the families of the earth will be blessed” [in their offspring]. 

   In conclusion my friends, I wanted to mention a public TV presentation this past week that basically explored what our future on planet earth could look like. I know when I first read the title and the explanation, I found myself thinking, “Oh, this can’t be good!” 

   We ended up watching it anyway and found that my 1^st impression was wrong.  The presenter, Ari Wallach, described how our present existence leaves many of us feeling that “something just isn’t right” –that we are, “between times,” looking, hoping perhaps for something better.  Now, we all know that there are many reasons that we might feel that “something isn’t right” in the here and now –from our relationships with others, within families and nations, climate change, and protecting our beautiful earth, politics, religion and more. 

   Now, amid all this, Wallach says, just because our cities, for instance, aren’t necessarily “people-friendly,” with too much concrete, and too little “green space” doesn’t mean that in future we can’t come up with something better. Computer-generated images then showed more pleasant building shapes with curves rather than straight lines, with all kinds of green plants nestling up along the sides, less cars, more bikes, and so on. 

   It struck me my friends that the “something” or “some things” that aren’t right, are in our hands to change, if we have the will to do so!  Can we do it alone? No! –but we can do our part!  That is what the “letter-writing group” each week is all about, as an example. 

   The Easter story is all about our God first loving us, with the expectation that we will love God in return, and show that love by loving and caring for others, our beautiful world, not only for ourselves, but for those who come after us.  That’s the Easter story and if we can do our part, as did Jesus, continuing his work, then, “alleluia” can truly be our song!  It’s all about “love,” about something ultimately bigger than ourselves—about seeing the splendor, the awesome, in the every day, and continually working toward a world shared by all, for all. Amen? Amen! Alleluia!

   My friends, it was Easter Friday during the 1^st week of Easter, as I wrote this. Additionally, I received an on-line Easter greeting from a friend who almost always sends me one after the actual holiday or holyday.  As I reflect on that, I realize, and she probably did too, that the wonderful sentiments that Easter conveys, or any other special day for that matter, are big enough, and important enough to extend to more than one day. My mother-by-marriage, Margaret, used to say, “We can celebrate our birthdays for a whole week,” when we didn’t get together on someone’s actual special day. 

   So, what am I saying with regard to the Easter Season?  Benedictine Sister, Joan Chittister has said of Easter, “It is not a nice, fairytale with a happy ending—it is just the beginning.”

   I think to put all of this in perspective, let’s review what happened in Jesus’ life journey after he died on the cross—the state punishment for one who wouldn’t remain silent in the face of injustice to many in Church and State. 

   Jesus’ followers from over the three years of his very public life had, we could say, lost a great deal of hope in their rabbi who they sincerely thought to be their “messiah,” and even though Jesus foretold his death, they couldn’t actually believe that it would come to pass.

   They had seen him cure many, raise Lazarus from the dead— “why,” in their humanity, they asked, “couldn’t he save himself?” They had never before seen the likes of such a teacher-revealer-friend, so it makes sense that they simply couldn’t imagine such a one as Jesus, who would become, the Christ, the “anointed one.”

   So after the Sabbath, these 1^st followers’ level of hope got a real boost when the women went to his tomb to anoint his body, and found that had, “gone missing.”  Now, not yet understanding what Jesus’ foretelling of the fact that, “he would rise again” truly meant, they assumed, some of them, that his body had been stolen. 

   You may have wondered reading the account from John’s gospel on Easter, of Peter and John going to inspect the tomb after Mary Magdala reported that Jesus was not there, why it mattered “that the body wrappings and the face covering were in different places” in the tomb.  What John, in his gospel is saying to his readers, is what he personally, “saw,” [and came] “to believe” –Jesus had risen, just as he said, because if someone had actually, “stolen his body,” they wouldn’t have unwrapped it first!  John wants everyone reading his account to know what he came to know—Jesus had truly risen! 

   And additionally, we all, reading through the longer account of that 1^st Easter morning, come to know and hopefully believe that “rising from the dead” is quite different than being “resuscitated,” as was Lazarus.  Easter morning let those 1^st believers know that what Jesus experienced in the resurrection –something promised to each of us one day, was, and would be different.

   We know this because the risen Jesus was unrecognizable to his closest friends and followers—Mary Magdala and the travelers on the way to Emmaus, who only knew him when he “spoke and acted” in ways that they recognized from when he had been physically present to them.

   At this point friends, I think it is important to actually try and place ourselves into this awesome experience that Jesus’ 1^st followers, Scripture tells us, were involved in.  In doing that, we can excuse perhaps, any unbelief, or lack of seeming, understanding of what was going on, because after all, what we have come to believe, in our faith, after hearing this story every year of our lives, these 1^st followers were experiencing for the very first time!

    Today then, in John’s gospel, we really shouldn’t be so hard on Thomas for not believing—he was perhaps a very “pragmatic” person who simply, “needed to physically see,” to believe.  Mary Magdala and those who journeyed to Emmaus, along with all the other apostles had experienced the “risen Jesus” in a way that they couldn’t explain, which helped them to believe.  The telling then, over the centuries, of this awesome story has helped all of us to believe. 

   Pondering then the other Scripture selections for this 2^nd Sunday of Easter, we see that as Joan Chittister said of Easter, “this is just the beginning.”  Our part then, as for all of Jesus’ followers is to walk in his footsteps, doing in our world, what he did in his. 

   In the reading from Acts, we are told that, “the community of believers was of one “mind and heart,” thus from the very beginning, we should know that for each of us, both, “mind and heart” will be needed “to be” in our world as Jesus was in his.  Luke, thought-to-be writer of Acts continues, “all [in this community of believers] were given great respect,” and that “no one was needy among them.” Think my friends, how it would be if more in our world, treated “all with respect” and that we shared to the point that “no one was needy.”

   In the second reading from John’s 1^st letter, he says, “the love of God consists of this, that we keep God’s commandments,” and here we see that balance, or at least mention of the importance of “mind and heart” –is not always an easy undertaking.  It has been said, “Love is the hardest lesson.”  Additionally, John, in his 1^st letter has a consul for those who would perhaps enforce the “commandments”— [that they] “are not burdensome.”

   In today’s gospel, another line that jumps out for me, that Jesus utters often when he appears after the resurrection, is one that we should make part of our own lives, as we too engage with others— “Peace be with you!” It would seem that this phrase, whether we use these exact words or not, would be the balance between acting on law, versus acting with love. 

   Within this gospel, our brother Jesus gives the Church its “marching orders” so to speak, in being open to the, “Spirit continually renewing the face of the earth: “Whose sins you retain, or forgive,” it is done!”  I believe what Jesus is basically saying here is that we should engage not only our minds, but more so, and at least with equal measure, our hearts— “do what you feel, in your heart, is right,” I believe Jesus is saying.  Again, not to be redundant, Bishop Barron’s response to our parish’s request for a visit, is devoid of heart.

   This past week our Church lost a prophet in the person of Bishop Tom Gumbleton. He said of himself that in his justice actions in our world for peace, for equality, and more, “he never thought about consequences,” and that is probably why he never attained more than “auxiliary” bishop, which came to him at age 38. Our Church, unfortunately, doesn’t promote prophets. 

   In conclusion then, earlier I mentioned the words from John’s 1^st letter that “love of God consists of…keeping God’s commandments,” and Jesus made that easy for us when he said, there are really only two you need keep— “Love God and your neighbor as yourself.”  It sounds simple, but anyone, including the first community of believers that formed after the resurrection came to know, it is not always “simple,” nor is it, “easy.”  Our salvation friends is in knowing that our brother Jesus has not only shown us “the way,” but stands with us as we strive to engage heart and mind in living as he did.  Amen? —Amen! —Alleluia!