Reflection on the Third Sunday of Easter
The Lord is with us; since the beginning of time, He always has been with us. With a new covenant, Jesus came just as the Scriptures stated. His body was beaten and bruised; He died, and then rose from the dead to free us from sin.
Many of us know these stories, have heard these passages Sunday after Sunday, understand the Scriptures, and live in communion with Him. Yet we often get down about the events in our life. We allow these challenging events in our lives to make us question our faith and the meaning of Scripture. We may even question why things are happening to us or how can God allow these horrific events in the news. These times are just stumbles, aswe carry our crosses. We know from Scripture in recent weeks that we think as humans and cannot think as God does. Oh how often as a father and husband I am reminded of that!
Our society celebrates those who jockey for control, rewards those most powerful, and glamorizes those decision makers. It is hard for us to do the opposite - to do as God asks, to let go of that control, to humble ourselves and give Him control of our lives. He asks us to follow Him, to proclaim His message and story, and to love all others as He loves us. Love all others. Certainly that seems a stark contrast to accepted behavior within our society.
How many times can we relate to these disciples on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus? Even when we are with other faithful disciples, we tend to focus on the despair, the hardship, the sorrow occurring in our lives. Our eyes are closed to Him in our lives, even when He reaches out to us while walking that road with us.
When we finally realize that epiphanic moment of God and the Holy Spirit at work in our lives, calling us in some way, we are amazed and proclaim His good works. Then we look behind us and see how His work is/was burning in us, as we worked or endured hardship or other challenges.
How can we stop those peaks and valleys from occurring in our lives? In everything we aim to excel at, we must practice intensely to become better. Here also we must practice our faith intensely to become better children of God, to become “one with Him”, to do “what Jesus would do”, and most of all to try to love Him as much as He loves us.
God wants us to spread His love through our actions of love to others, while practicing holy lives. We will struggle, stumble, fall, and even fail. Perhaps now more than ever, just after this new covenant of His Resurrection and Divine Mercy in our lives, it is a perfect time for us to reconcile with God, as there certainly needs to be more of Him in this world!
How can we “practice” our faith better and more intensely? How can we show our commitment to renew our covenant with God?
~ Ray Martinelli