Easter: hope for the world

Last night my husband and I attended the Easter Vigil.  It was a glorious service.  We started the evening with no lights as readers presented the Creation Story from Genisus and the Parting of the Sea from Exodus.  When the Gospel was read the lights came on and the music was wonderful.  We watched over 50 people be Baptised and Confirmed.  We kneeled and sang the Litany of the Saints which is my favorite and I am always listening for my Saint. 

I am sharing from the Taize page a portion of a wonderful Meditation. 

Meditation by Brother Alois

The Easter Gospel tells of a woman, Mary Magdalene, weeping, full of confusion, as if Jesus’ death had sealed the failure of all her hopes. Yet whereas the apostles of Jesus hid behind locked doors out of fear, she went to the tomb. This act expressed not only her grief, but also an expectation, however confused it may have been. It was the longing for a love that the greatest suffering could not completely wipe out.


So Jesus, the Risen Lord, came to her. And he did this in a completely unexpected way, not triumphantly, but so humbly that she did not recognize him, taking him for the gardener.

Jesus called her by name, "Mary", and that would change everything. Mary recognized in her heart the voice of Jesus. She turned to him and called him in turn: “Rabbouni, Lord”. A new life began in her; she was confident that Jesus was close to her, even if his presence was now different. Then the Risen Christ sent her: "Go to my brothers; tell them that I am risen!” Her life received a new meaning; she had a task to accomplish.

We too are like Mary Magdalene at the tomb. As there was in her, there is a longing in us, and often unresolved questions. Sometimes we feel this longing as a lack or as emptiness. We may express it by a cry of distress or, without words, by a simple sigh. In that way our being begins to open up to God. It is the longing, even confused, for a communion; it already allows us to live by trusting in God.

Then Christ calls us by our own name. He knows each one of us personally. He tells us: "Go to my brothers and sisters; tell them that I am risen. Convey my love by your life."  
 
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