Fr. Frank Majka, SJ – The Bridge

Easter Present

“Christmas” and “presents” are two words that seem to just naturally go together, but “Easter presents” sounds a little odd. Still, if you stop to think about it, Easter celebrates an extraordinary present — the Resurrection. At Easter, we remember that God raised Jesus from death and gave him to us.

The suffering and death of Jesus were for us. Christ said at the last supper that his Body and Blood were being given for us. But the Resurrection is also for us and brings other gifts along with it: salvation, forgiveness of sins, freedom, new life and the restoration of our intimacy with God. The rising of Jesus makes it possible for us to live with faith, hope and love, knowing that Christ has conquered doubt, despair and selfishness.

At the Resurrection, God gives us Christ as our savior, and Jesus shares his risen life with us, not just after we die but even now. It’s a truly remarkable gift that our Father has given us. And we thank God for it every Easter Sunday and every Easter season.

God’s New Temple

Matthew, Mark and Luke all mention that at the death of Jesus, the veil (or curtain) of the Temple was torn in two, leaving the Holy of Holies open and exposed. The Holy of Holies and the Temple were where Israel knew it could always find its God. The opening of the Holy of Holies by the tearing of the curtain and, a few years later, the destruction of the Temple itself by the Roman army was traumatic. With no more Temple and no more Holy of Holies, where could the people go to find God now?

As the people and the rabbis confronted this question, many came to the conclusion that the Law and their traditions were where they could go to meet God. The Jewish followers of Jesus, though, came to a different, more radical, conclusion. They came to see, through their belief in Jesus’ teachings, death, and Resurrection, that Jesus himself was the new Temple and they would encounter God there.

And this new Temple, this new Holy of Holies, wasn’t separated from people or from the world. Now God could be found anywhere and everywhere, and no curtain separated God and people any more. Fifteen hundred years later, St. Ignatius of Loyola urged people to seek to find God in all things, insisting that all things were places to meet God, even those things, people, and events that seem to be empty of God, including the events of Jesus’ own passion and death. Nothing can keep God from meeting us and us from meeting God.

This Easter season is a perfect time for us to deepen our appreciation of the fact that Christ is God’s Temple and that there are no more curtains now between God and us, God and the world, God and life. Fifty days spent pondering this, as we move towards Pentecost, can make a tremendous difference in where we look for God and how we look at everything around us.

Why Be Generous

This Lent, like every other Lent, the Church encourages us to be generous and kind towards others, reminding us of the obligation to give alms to the needy. After all, we are all brothers and sisters and are all together in this thing we call life. We are all connected to one another, so we should help each other. John Donne’s famous poem put it well: No man (or woman) is an island.

But a few weeks ago I came across one of the Lenten Mass prayers that asked that God help us be kind and generous to those in need not just because were are God’s family, but so that we might better imitate God’s own kindness and generosity. When we we share with others, we are doing what God does. And, as Jesus reminds us, God is always generous and kind to us whether we are good or bad, deserving or undeserving.

To share our money, our time, our encouragement or our concern with those in need imitates God’s own kindness. Yes, our alms and kindness are based on the fact that we are all one family. But they’re also deeply rooted in the fact that we’re created to resemble God, as Genesis tells us.

Of course, imitating God seems like a tall order, but maybe it’s not as out-of-reach as it seems. For, with God’s help, all of us can work at being more kind and generous — not just in Lent but during the whole year.

I’m Listening!

A few Sundays ago many Christian congregations heard the story of young Samuel. He heard a voice calling him in his sleep and ran to the man he had thought was calling him, Eli the priest. Eli told him he hadn’t called but that if the voice came again, Samuel should respond, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” It did come again, and Samuel did what Eli said, whereupon God called Samuel to do an important task that would change the future of Eli’s house and eventually all Israel. (First Samuel 3)

Centuries later, Saint Paul dreamed that a man from Macedonia was calling to him saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” (Acts 16) Paul accepted that call to take his preaching from Asia Minor to the Gentiles in Greece, and because he did so, the whole history of the spread of Christianity changed dramatically.

These incidents teach us two things. First of all, they show that God can call us anytime, not just when we are awake or expecting it. Our being asleep or doing other things does not block God’s calls to us. They come whenever and however God wants. In fact, I think we should expect God to call us often.

Secondly, when he calls, God normally asks something of us. His calls can often make demands on us or change us in ways we did not anticipate. Furthermore, the calls that come to us are also meant to be gifts for others. They are the way God continues to create his ever-changing world.

So, if we believe that God continues to call us and that we are meant to respond to these calls, why not take some time to recall when God has called us, noticing how we and others are different — and better — because we listened and answered.

How Long Does Christmas Last?

For some Americans, the answer is simple: it lasts about a day, from the closing of the malls on Christmas Eve until the sales begin on December 26. But in the Christian liturgy, the season lasts from Christmas Eve to the Epiphany and Baptism of the Lord. But Christmas doesn’t have to be over at the feast of the Lord’s Baptism.

For the Christmas season reminds us that Christ came to our world simply and without fanfare, was born into a family that welcomed and loved him, revealed himself to the poor (the shepherds) and those who sought him out (the magi), stood with sinners (the baptism), but was hidden from those who resisted or feared his coming (like Herod). And that’s the way he has been coming to us and to our world ever since: simply and humbly, not demanding special treatment but being open to anyone willing to seek and welcome him, out of reach only to those who will not reach out to him.

So, our prayerful reflection on the truths of Christmas can certainly continue long after the season is officially over. Some of us may even want to be reminded of Christmas all during the year. And, after all, nothing says the manger scene can’t stay up all the time, complete with Mary and Joseph, shepherds, the magi, the angels and even the animals, for Christmas will always be a permanent and central part of the Christian faith.