REFLECTION

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark,  and saw the stone removed from the tomb.

So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.”

So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.

They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.

When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture 

that he had to rise from the dead. John 20: 1-9

Easter morning…the Lenten days of fasting, almsgiving and repenting are over.  Christ’s resurrection vividly demonstrates that love is always stronger than fear or hate or even death. Certainly, something to celebrate. And given what we have all been through this past year, we all really need reasons to celebrate, to find joy.

Lent calls us to “die to self” so that we can fully use our gifts and talents to foster the city of God here and now. It gives us space to see that I need God, that God’s guidance will lead me where I am called to go. And to see that I don’t have to “do it myself”, because God is always there, always ready to help me move towards God’s love and forgiveness.

Happy Easter Everyone!

I can also recommend the Stations of the Cross, hosted by Trinity College in our town’s beautiful Botanical Gardens from 11:00 a.m. on Good Friday as an enjoyable and thought provoking half hour to mark the Easter season.