Who is that comes to meet us like the rising sun?

Who is this who comes to meet us like the rising sun? As we walk each day we encounter others with their hopes and dreams, their sorrows and their disappointments. As we share time with them these seem to be bought into a new way of seeing which is more than just our discussions. We start to see a greater vision of what brings meaning to life. It is this encounter with the unseen person, whose our eyes do not fully grasp or our hearts completely contain which moves us to discover the words that bring life. It is this encounter with the Word of Life that allows scripture to be etched into our living flesh. The touchstone of who we are called to be, a vision greater than our own. As we break bread with each other his life becomes part of our own or rather we become at one with him who brings us into a communion of life which transforms our whole world.

For us forgiveness is a person

When Jesus met the disciples in the flesh after his resurrection something has significantly changed not only in his life but in ours. There can be a belief that forgiveness is a task that we can pick up or put down. This belief can focus on the words, "Those whose sins you forgive are forgiven, those whose sins that are retained they are retained." At one level this can acknowledge the importance of the disciples being commissioned as ministers of forgiveness. However, this is only one important element of the sacrament of reconciliation but it can tend to put the emphasis on our actions rather than an encounter with the person of Jesus Christ. This is acknowledged when we reflect on the meeting of Jesus with Thomas. Thomas has to touch the wounds of Jesus' body in order to be healed of his doubt. The same is true for us, we need to live out the sacrament as a life-giving encounter which assists us to know of God's forgiveness. Without this touch, we can tend to think that the sacrament of penance is all about us choosing forgiveness rather than an invitation to go deeper into a life-giving relationship. If the focus is all on us rather than breaking the bonds which hold us as people who doubt whether God will ever meet us we simply need to turn to Jesus and touch his wounds. For us, forgiveness is a person, not a commodity.

Are we ready for Easter?

Are we ready for Easter? After our Lenten preparation, there is a different feel to this celebration. We have been called to reflect on who Jesus is for us and how he meets us in our daily life. We have been encouraged to make room in our hearts, in our minds and in our actions to discover where he calls us to be present. We have been called to be prayerful, thoughtful and charitable. This is an important way to help draw us into the story of Holy Week and Easter. Yet the story calls us to a place where we ponder Jesus’ Passion not as disinterested spectators but as people who are affected by what unfolds. This is a profound engagement with a person who wishes us to discover the depth of God’s love for us and the way in which he cannot walk away from us. There is no greater love and it calls us to ponder on the way it moves us. What is missed in all this action is the silence of Holy Saturday. This liminal space calls us to a place in which all life is transformed not by what we say or by what we do but an encounter with silence. It is from this silence that all life changes and is renewed. That God breaks the shackles which speak only of death and destruction, horror and emptiness. They speak of a love which transcends times and space to meet us where we are. May the Easter joy surprise you and encounter a peace that disturbs you. A joy that fills us with hope and enlivens us to proclaim that Christ has risen! Alleluia!

He could not walk away from himself.

As we enter into Holy Week we become aware of the Passion of Jesus and the way it touches the lives of both believers and unbelievers. This was not just a selective act to save the lucky few, it was a divine act which sought to reconcile the whole of creation. It sought to restore our relationship with God and with each other which can be so easily broken and damaged. Often we wonder could there have been a better way? Yet we know that this causes us to stop, ponder and review what is important in our lives and the impact that this Paschal Mystery has on our whole lives. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus casting our whole life in a new light and seeks to show the depth of God's creative life engaging with our own. Jesus sought to bring life and love to the heart of all our lives by allowing us to enter into his own relationship with the Father. Fundamentally, Jesus could not walk away from himself any more than God can walk away from the heart of creation. It is with a heart broken open for the love of the world that we discover a new way of seeing and a new way of living.