Third Sunday of Easter 2020

‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road…...’ These burning hearts take us further into God’s world.

When Jesus approaches the disciples along the road, ‘their eyes were kept from recognizing him.’ It is up to our imaginations as to why, excerpt that Jesus invites them to tell him their story. They are talked about the arrest, torture, crucifixion and death of Jesus. 

Second Sunday of Easter

Pope Francis, referring to a passage from the Book of Revelation where Jesus stands before the door and knocks, said: ‘Today Christ is knocking from inside the church and wants to get out.’ Bishop Vincent Long, in his Easter homily, said that we encounter the living Christ ‘beyond the known boundaries of our worldview and the safe moorings of the past. We meet him as a community of seekers of truth, meaning and ultimate concern. More importantly, we witness to him in our acts of solidarity, communion and love.’ His words touch on the challenge of the readings today.

In a book I just purchased, The Seventh Story: Us, Them, and the End of Violence the authors, Gareth Higgin and Brian McLaren, say that we are storytellers which is how we make sense of everything around us from getting up in the morning to contributing to world peace. As other writers tell us, if we want to change our life and want to change the world, we need to begin with stories (e.g. David Korten).

Fifth Sunday of Lent

Today’s gospel proclaims the truth that Jesus is the lord of life. He has power to call us out of our tomb. We do not have to be physically dead in order to be raised up. We can be dead in the midst of life when we remain indifferent (‘globalisation of indifference’ as Pope Francis called it) to the plight of other people and unable to weep with them. Is this not like living in a tomb? Jesus’ voice calls us all away from making the tomb our natural habitat.

Fourth Sunday of Lent

Jesus openly proclaimed that he came to open the eyes of the blind and set free those held captive in darkness. This resulted him in being viewed as a dangerous figure. We see how God is close to the broken. Here a blind man can now see things differently and is no longer held back by outsides forces of authority despite their naked hostility towards him and Jesus.