Sometimes it
seems like there's nothing but negative, depressing, bad news.
When that
mounts up, I can't help but think of that lively song from The Wiz.
A really
upbeat rhythm that tries to push all that aside with the refrain—
No bad
news.
No bad
news.
Don't you
bring me no bad news!
Last week was
a bad news week in our liturgical year.
The week of
Jesus' Passion.
A week of bad
vibes as we see traces of ourselves reflected in the
apostles.
And maybe even
in Pilate or some of the others who failed Jesus.
A week that
highlights our fears and weaknesses.
Our ability to
betray, deny, abandon and ignore.
But Sunday we
began a new week—a whole new Season.
Celebrating
the epitome of the Good News.
We're now in
the third day of the Octave of Easter.
We celebrate
this greatest of Christian feasts for not just one day, but for
eight.
The Good News
doesn't get any more joyful or better than the Easter News.
A new and
glorious beginning.
Jesus' victory
over death.
His assurance
that we can share in that victory.
For eight days we hear
different reports and different aspects of that news.
Today we hear
Peter telling the Jews:
… the
promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off,
whomever
the Lord our God will call.
We're among
those receiving that promise, far off from that place and time.
We're those
children who God is still calling two thousand years later.
Calling us to
forgiveness, to the Spirit, to a share in that victory over
death.
We also hear
Jesus asking Mary Magdalene:
Why are you
weeping? Whom are you looking for?
Those words
are directed to us too.
There are
plenty of times in this life when we weep in pain and sorrow.
And too often
at those times, we're like Mary at the tomb.
We fail to recognize that God's is right there with us.
We fail to recognize that God's is right there with us.
He's there
with the comfort and the assurance that, ultimately, all can be well.
And Jesus adds
yet another Good News reminder.
He says, I
am going to my Father and your Father.
He's
not just returning to God and leaving us behind.
Even
in his glorified state he continues to call himself our brother.
Continues to assure us that we can look to God as our loving,
merciful Father.
No
bad news this week.
Nothing
but Good News.
Tuesday, Octave of Easter
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