12 April 2026 - peace like rivers

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

The way people in the past had treated the prophets poorly and abused them had not resulted in peace. It brought, not the blessings of the covenant, but its curses. This was such a given that, in response to Jesus telling the parable about leasing the vineyard, in which the tenants finally killed the son of the landlord, his audience replied, stating how the landowner would respond: "He will put those wretches to a miserable death" (see Matthew 21:41). Therefore, they assumed that those in leadership roles who were responsible for the death of the son would themselves be put to death. Jesus did not immediately or directly challenge this notion. Imagine that looping through the disciples minds after the events of Good Friday! Once the true Son of the Father had in fact been put to death every shared in complicity to one degree or another. The fact that the disciples of Jesus had fled and failed him in his hour of need probably made it hard for them to imagine that they would not share in God's judgment against those responsible for the death of Jesus. But it turned out that God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but rather so that through him the world could be saved (see John 3:17). Jesus did not in fact pray for the death of his persecutors, but rather, for their forgiveness. The result of his death was not the immediately unleashing of curses but rather of blessings. The death of Jesus did not forever confirm and set in stone the enmity between God and humanity, but rather made true peace  possible.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Having peace with God means that we don't act in ways that are hostile to his Lordship and that he in turn doesn't have to respond with punishment and judgment. Before Christ made peace with God possible we lived as his enemies, on a one way road to destruction. We were so committed in our opposition to him that he knew that we could not bear the fullness of his presence among us and would seek to destroy it. Yet he made precisely that the thing that would unleash peace and forgiveness. He set a trap for our sinfulness, showing that however great was our sin, love was still greater. Where sin abounded grace abounded still more (see Romans 5:20).

Peace with God is not merely meant to describe an external lack of hostility between man and God. It is meant to define our inner subjective experience as well. Our old ways of thinking in which we put our selfish egos first were ultimately death directed. But the the cross made it possible for us to receive the Holy Spirit, and through him, renewed minds. Those renewed minds could be at peace since they would need no longer experience the disproportionate fear of death as though it were an absolute evil. They would no longer harbor the subconscious fear that God was against them, waiting for an excuse to issue forth condemnation and judgment. They would believe that if God was on their side than nothing could harm them an any ultimate sense.

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace (see Romans 8:6).

that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery (see Hebrews 2:14-15).

Because of the death of Jesus we become convinced of God's love for us (see First John 4:16), allowing us to cast our cares upon him since he does in fact care for us (see First Peter 5:7). It is not that we don't have other concerns anymore, or that we only care about God and other purely spiritual things. It is rather that we are able to trust God with all of our other concerns.

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (see Philippians 4:6-7).

We do not always experience this level of transcendent peace that Paul describes. In fact, we are often more like Thomas. Others tell us about the power of the resurrection, the now unshakable reality of the peace of Christ, and we imagine it to be too good to be true. We imagine those witnesses of the resurrection to be exaggerating, or, if not, that what they received is meant for them but not for us. But if we missed the first round of blessing, it might be because God has a plans for a special second round which will have even more profound effects in us than would have been possible otherwise. He may allow us to experience some darkness for the sake of making our eventual conviction and belief all the stronger. So if we feel like we missed out when Jesus was passing out his gift of peace, we should know that he still intends for us to receive it. Unlike Thomas, we probably won't arrive at faith through the visible icon of the Lord's risen Body. But Jesus assures us that, if anything, we will be blessed no less because of it.

Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.

To be clear, this is us! So too are we the ones described by Peter in his epistle:

Although you have not seen him you love him;
even though you do not see him now yet believe in him,
you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,
as you attain the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls

So let us live in the peace and the joy that are the fruits of his Spirit, available to us because of his resurrection from the dead.  May they shape our hearts, and then, in turn, our communities of faith, as they did for the early Church:

They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart,
praising God and enjoying favor with all the people.
And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

Michael W Smith - You Are Holy (Prince Of Peace)

 

11 April 2026 - witless to witness

Today's Readings
(Audio)

She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping.
When they heard that he was alive
and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

No doubt they thought that, as a women, she was overcome by emotions, clinging to insubstantial dreams that she wished were true. But it was they themselves who clung to a false reality, an incorrect interpretation of the past, leading to a distorted view of the present. Mary Magdalene was in fact only affirming that what Jesus had once said would happen had in fact occurred. But the emotions of despair from seeing the crucifixion clouded their vision of both past and future, making it difficult for them to choose to believe in the possibility of hope. There was a certain sense of finality to the cross that it difficult to believe that things could ever be good or whole again. But it was their hopelessness that distorted the truth of reality, not the joy and hope of Mary Magdalene.

After this he appeared in another form
to two of them walking along on their way to the country.
They returned and told the others;
but they did not believe them either.

It must have been hard for both these two and Mary Magdalene to explain how it was that they hadn't recognized Jesus when he first appeared. This was, to be sure, an inconvenient detail. But he desired to be known by Mary specifically when he called her name. So too did desire to be known by the two on the road to Emmaus in the breaking of the bread. But these events were, of course, unprecedented. They only had their prior experiences of the pre-resurrection Jesus for comparison. These experiences held clues and even predictions. But they were not such that the shape of future events could be known in advance. The risen Lord was a new paradigm. He could not be seen by people trapped in old and carnal ways of thinking. He was the same Jesus, yes. But he was now glorified. And that changed everything.

But later, as the Eleven were at table, he appeared to them
and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart
because they had not believed those
who saw him after he had been raised.

Their old and earthly attitudes had made them fail to believe witnesses who were in fact speaking the truth, good news that was better than anything they could ask or imagine. Jesus rebuked their hardness of heart, but not in order to make them feel condemned. He did so rather for the same reason that he had rebuked the storm at sea (see Mark 4:39). He did so to take control of emotional forces that were normally beyond direct human control, to change the internal atmosphere of the eleven, giving them the peace and great calm of his presence.

He said to them, “Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” 

In order to function as his witnesses they needed to have their hardened, disbelieving, and despairing hearts replaced with new and living hearts filled with hope. It was not a hope which was derived from auspicious earthly circumstances, but rather a hope that was drawn from the resurrection of Jesus himself. Not only did they need to believe that Jesus had done more than they could ask or imagine, they needed to believe that this was now his modus operandi, the new normal from the nascent Church. We see this clearly in the way the power of the resurrection was at work amongst the disciples of the early Church described in Acts.

Everyone living in Jerusalem knows that a remarkable sign
was done through them, and we cannot deny it.

When we are convinced that the goodness of God is really at work among us we will yield to no human authority who tells us not to speak of it.

Whether it is right in the sight of God
for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges.
It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.

It is then that we will know and resonate with the experience of the psalmist.

My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
The joyful shout of victory
in the tents of the just.

Newsboys - Million Pieces (Kissin' Your Cares Goodbye)

 

10 April 2026 - backtracking vs backsliding

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Zebedee's sons, and two others of his disciples.
Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing."
They said to him, "We also will come with you."

It seems the disciples were unclear on what came next. Was it now the end times, since the resurrection had occurred? Should they go back to living normal lives now that the mission had, it seemed, been finished? They did not know what to do next, and Jesus wasn't immediately proximate to ask, so they returned to the familiar. But although it seemed like they may have thought to exit their roles as disciples by the same way they entered, it was no longer possible. Jesus had forever transformed the idea of the disciples as fishermen. No aspect of their lives was untouched by him. There was no place to which they could return that was safely separate and normal. But perhaps on some level they knew this. They remembered that it was while fishing that they first gained a sense of their calling. Maybe they returned to it in hope of having a similar experience to provide them with the direction they now desired. It may have been only a semiconscious hope. But they knew that Jesus had revealed himself before even amidst their ordinary circumstances. Thus did he do again, fulfilling that hope.

When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore;
but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to them, "Children, have you caught anything to eat?"
They answered him, "No."
So he said to them, "Cast the net over the right side of the boat
and you will find something."

Their services as fishers of men were still needed even and especially after the resurrection. As a symbol of how this would work the other disciples struggled to bring in the massive catch of fish, but the strength of Peter was somehow enough to move the whole thing single-handedly, signaling his unique role among his brother Apostles. But Peter was as effective as he was because he was wise enough to defer to the counsel of the apparently more spiritual John who recognized Jesus first. And this kind of humility has marked our better popes through the ages. They first listen and only then act decisively.

Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them,
and in like manner the fish.

In what does the joy of the Church consist if not the bread which Jesus gives us, together with the constant influx on new disciples from every land, tribe, and tongue? It is a feast compromised of both bread and fish. It is a table that is set for us primarily by the successors of the Apostles, our bishops, and their collaborators among the priesthood. Yet we, as laity, also work together with them, allowing ourselves to become fishers of men in the ponds, streams, and rivers of ordinary life to which they might not otherwise have access. We might think that Peter was unique in how he responded to the religious authorities in today's reading from Acts. But we too have been filled with the same Spirit they guided him. With Paul we can say, "we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak" (see Second Corinthians 4:13). And we are meant to receive the same level of conviction and even boldness of speech that we see Peter had.

then all of you and all the people of Israel should know
that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean
whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead;
in his name this man stands before you healed.
He is the stone rejected by you, the builders,
which has become the cornerstone.
There is no salvation through anyone else,
nor is there any other name under heaven
given to the human race by which we are to be saved."

We need this conviction and confidence because it is so common for us to slip into believing that our earthly tasks, our own fishing in the natural sphere, are more pressing, or worse, more important than our spiritual priorities, even though we know that the former has only temporary significance, the later, eternal.

This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.

Hillsong Worship - No Other Name

 

9 April 2026 - be not afraid, he's no ghost

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

"Peace be with you."
But they were startled and terrified
and thought that they were seeing a ghost.

They had been wrong about this before. When he came across the waves to their boat during a storm they also "thought it was a ghost and cried out" (see Mark 6:49). But from this we might surmise that it wasn't just the fact on the presence of Jesus that startled and terrified them. On the lake he had been terrifying specifically because the event was revelation of his divinity, a theophany. So too here. He had crossed the greater stormy sea of death to return once more to his frightened flock in the little vessel of his Church. His risen humanity, now glorified, was now, in some mysterious way, transparent to his divinity. What Peter, James, and John, saw briefly during the transfiguration was now normalized. It wasn't that his old human aspect was gone. It was rather more like a new dimension of reality had opened up around him. No wonder people needed his graced assistance in order to recognize him. They could stare at him directly but not see his familiar humanity because of the blinding light of his divinity. No wonder, too, then, that this was not an experience that was given immediately to the whole world, but rather to chosen witnesses. These witnesses were able, eventually, to correctly interpret what they had seen because they had been with him the whole time. They had known the human Jesus. They were the ones who could understand that he was not some glorious angelic being or phantasm, but rather than same Jesus whom they had known. What was the ultimate link that definitively proved that the one they had known before was the same one whom they now beheld? It was his wounds.

Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.
Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones
as you can see I have."
And as he said this,
he showed them his hands and his feet.

As he had done for the disciples on the way to Emmaus so now he opened the minds of the others to understand the Scriptures. Specifically they came to understand the way that he was at the center of everything. Not only was he the one predicted in the obviously messianic passages of the prophets, but the law of Moses and the psalms as well ultimately found the true fulfillment of their deepest meaning in him as well. Although Jesus said so, it was not obvious to the untrained mind that it is written in the Old Testament "that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached". But once one saw it, he could not unseen it. Jesus was sacrificed in the figure of Isaac, offered as the lamb by Moses, prefigured as the suffering servant in Isaiah, shown as persecuted but eventually triumphant in the psalms of David, just to name a few examples. Even as recently as Vatican I prophecy was affirmed as an important external "motive of credibility" (motiva credibitatis) that makes the act of faith rational (see Vatican I, Session III, Ch. 3). We can see in our recent readings that prophecy has always been considered a vital part of the witness of the Church. Fulfillment was the foundation of Peter's message today in our reading from Acts, including fulfillment of the words of Moses and Samuel, and of God's promise to Abraham. But what is the eventual result of this conviction supposed to be, or what do we become as a consequence? Jesus tells us:

You are witnesses of these things.

Peter understood this, as we can see in the reading from Acts, when he  says "of this we are witnesses". But do we understand it? Are we persuaded that all of human history finds its fulfillment in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ? And if so, how can we help but proclaim it?

O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

Passion - Holy Ground

 

8 April 2026 - heading the wrong way

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

That very day, the first day of the week,
two of Jesus’ disciples were going
to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus

They were heading in the wrong direction. The degree of their culpability for this is unclear. Jesus had told everyone what would happen. But no one really seemed to understand it beforehand. These two disciples had hoped that Jesus "would be the one to redeem Israel", implying that they no longer held that hope. After what they had witnessed in the horrific death of Jesus it is hard to blame them. But their readiness to give up on Jesus demonstrated that their initial hope in him was thin. Those with the strongest hope remained at the tomb, unable to accept that the light of the world could be dead. Besides them there were the other disciples who at least remained in the city and continued to gather in fellowship. They were well positioned to receive the revelation of the resurrection. Even the most famous doubter among them was unable to avoid that revelation for long. This shows us that it is among gatherings of other disciples that we find the privileged place for encounter with Jesus. Yet the story of Emmaus gives us hope for those who are heading the wrong way, that Jesus does not abandon them, but follows after them, finds them, and engages them. However, he does not force himself on them. Before he allows himself to be fully recognized they must signal that they desire him to do so. By opening the Scriptures to them he gives them a taste of the possibility that their hope indeed lives on. But before he fully opens their eyes to his presence he waits for them to say "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over." They have to want it. And they do.

And it happened that, while he was with them at table,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,
but he vanished from their sight.

They had known Jesus in a human way. This was good, valid, and useful. It allowed him to teach them, to lead them, and to instruct them by his example. But it was still too limited. The reason he allowed them to experience some darkness as to knowing him in a merely human way was so that they could experience his presence on a deeper level, one that was more spiritual, and obtained in some degree to his divinity. Knowing him as a man allowed him to be their Teacher. But knowing him as God allowed him to be their wisdom and their Eucharistic food. What was previously external to them was internalized, and they were transformed in the process.

Were not our hearts burning within us
while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?

When the Scriptures change from historical narratives about past events into a place of encounter with Jesus himself our hearts too will burn within us. And it is above all in the Eucharist that we not only meet Jesus as we might meet any man, but that, to a degree, we actually become one with him, one body through the one loaf of Eucharistic bread. But the fact that this is preceded both in the story and in the mass by a Scriptural exposition is no accident. Rather, it is the presence of the living one in his Word, in both the Old and New Testaments, that gives us the context of how and why he would choose to be present in the humble elements of bread and wine. We see that he is our lamb of sacrifice and our priest-king Melchizedek. And when we receive him in the Eucharist with hearts that are on fire for him there are no limits to what his grace is able to do in us.

Carey Landry - Known To Us

 

7 April 2026 - sorrow turns to joy

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”

She was weeping because she loved Jesus so much, and had placed so much hope in him. He had restored her, and for a time it seemed he would restore the world as well. Could she have merely imagined that Jesus was all that he seemed to be? In a way, it seemed that she must have. But still, she couldn't leave the tomb, refused to abandon the body, and therefore give up on the connection she had to Jesus. As a woman in a garden, she wept like Eve for all that might have been but now seemed lost. But then she encountered the gardener. How fitting a misapprehension this was, since she turned to see the new Adam who was in fact in the process of planting the seed of a new Eden. But, although she was looking at all the signs of a new reality breaking forth, she still naturally interpreted them according to the old paradigm of fallen world. Although she had a real and profound love for Jesus it was nevertheless still a love that clung to the way that things which had been, which was not immediately open to be led into a new future of hope. Her love averted the potential disaster of full blown despair, even when all hope seemed lost. It was not enough on its own. But it was enough in the light of the one who loved her even more than she loved him, who knew her even better than she knew herself. It was this feeling of transcendence that she experienced when Jesus called her name.

Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,”
which means Teacher.

She was beginning to experience the promise of Jesus, that she would see him again, and that her sorrow would turn to joy. But even on recognizing him, she still needed to realize that his resurrection implied that she must now relate to him in a new way. He was still Teacher. But the Teacher was now risen and glorified. He could, yes, still be touched, as she and others demonstrated. But in order to reign over his Church, send his Spirit, and guide the work of evangelizing the world, he could no longer be held to one specific place alone. He was preparing her for his ascension in which he would still be present, even more present in fact, but in a different way than before. The contact of touch would indeed still be possible, but only through faith, since by faith we may touch the risen Lord in the Eucharist. But even there we do not cling. We do not try to arrest a moment in time that is meant to be a transition. We do not build tents on the mountain but allow the transformation to surge forward, changing us and our world in turn.

But go to my brothers and tell them,
‘I am going to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.’”
Mary went and announced to the disciples,
“I have seen the Lord,”
and then reported what he had told her.

Like Mary we too are meant to encounter the risen Lord and become witnesses to his resurrection. We too are meant to spread the news that it is now possible for everyone to become sons and daughters of the Father through faith and baptism, in which we are united to Jesus, and are thereby adopted into the divine life of the Trinity. When we really encounter him and allow him to unleash his Spirit in our lives we gain the motivation and confidence of Peter on the day of Pentecost:

Let the whole house of Israel know for certain
that God has made him both Lord and Christ,
this Jesus whom you crucified.

Darrell Evans - Trading My Sorrows

 

6 April 2026 - missing body problem

Today's Readings
(Audio)

You are to say,
‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.’

The opponents of Jesus seemed to realize the implications of the empty tomb more quickly than did his own disciples. His disciples interpreted the missing body to be merely that, a missing body, still dead, but now lost. The chief priests and the elders knew all too well that the missing body implied resurrection. It was, perhaps, easier for them to understand, since they weren't emotionally invested in the way that the disciples were. And yet, though they understood the implications of the empty tomb they did not seem to consider the factual basis of those implications. Rather, they were more concerned with preserving the narrative they had created of Jesus as a false and failed messiah. They chose to say that the disciples had stolen the body, since it was the most logical option for maintaining the coherence of that scenario. Yet, they did this knowing that it could not have been the case. The disciples had not overwhelmed the guards and moved the stone. Inconvenient facts, such as the guards' witness to the overwhelming and awe-inspiring presence of one or more angelic beings, were summarily dismissed. These, were of course, Roman guards, not given to flights of fancy or making excuses to explain dereliction of duty. Yet the chief priests and elders would cram the details into their existing narrative, no matter how much violence was required to make them fit.

Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid.
Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee,
and there they will see me.”

The fact of the empty tomb could only be explained by the factual and historical resurrection of Jesus from the dead. In the same way, the subsequent spread of Christianity could only be accounted for if the disciples really were convinced that they had encountered the risen Lord himself. We have seen that they were not convinced easily or immediately. Only as their alternative explanations failed, and they were able to see, hear, and touch the very much alive Jesus himself, did they eventually allow their hearts to dare to believe. They must have been very certain of the fact of the resurrection by the time they left the upper room and began to preach in the name of Jesus, since, in an earthly sense, they stood to gain very little by doing so. They did not become powerful or wealthy. They did, it is true, become popular in a sense, but not so much amongst the upper crust of society. We hear this in Paul's description of the church at Corinth: "not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth" (see First Corinthians 1:26). In fact, such popularity as the leaders of the early Christian movement did obtain proved to be their downfall, at least in an earthly sense. We know that virtually all of the first Christian leaders (perhaps excluding John) were martyred. One does not die to perpetuate a hoax. And we can see from the clarity and persuasiveness with which they spoke that they were more fully in their right minds than ever before. Therefore, since the disciples could not be explained away as liars or lunatics, Jesus must truly be risen, and if risen, than Lord. The implications explained by Peter to the crowd on Pentecost must in fact be true:

God raised this Jesus;
of this we are all witnesses.
Exalted at the right hand of God,
he poured forth the promise of the Holy Spirit
that he received from the Father, as you both see and hear.

As Christians, the resurrection is at the core of our faith. But we must become fully convinced of it both as a historical reality and as the source of our spiritual transformation. When the Holy Spirit makes the power of the resurrection present in us we will surge out like the disciples from the upper room and again become effective witnesses, persuading the world of what really happened to the momentarily missing body of our master. We see as history what the psalmist saw prophetically:

Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
Because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.

Matt Maher - Resurrection Day

 

5 April 2026 - the new paradigm of joy

Today's Readings
(Audio)

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.

One thing all of the accounts of the resurrection make clear is that no one anticipated it, no one simply assumed it, or was easily willing to interpret events to mean that it had happen. We can therefore understand that it was not the credulous beliefs of the desperate and the emotionally traumatized. Rather, precisely because they were emotionally traumatized they had a resistance to any suggestion of the possibility of hope. They interpreted death as having the same significance of finality as any modern person might. The fact that their faith hinted at a last day on which the dead would be raised did not not help in this particular instance. That day was too far off to ever impact the reality of their present circumstances. Or so they thought. It is true that Jesus said he had to die and to rise again on the third day. But they never seemed to be able to understand him when he said it. They couldn't understand why he had to die. And they couldn't link it to the Scriptural context of a far off future resurrection. Yet in spite of all this, they were unable to ignore the signs that something unprecedented had occurred. They tried, it is true, to categorize that event, to fit it into preexisting boxes. But it continued to fail to fit until they eventually encountered Jesus himself.

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.

The soldiers wanted the body to stay put, in proof of which they guarded even the almost immovable stone that sealed the tomb. So if the body was missing, what then? Grave robbers? But it could not be, since they wouldn't have taken the time to neatly remove the cloth and fold the burial robes. At the sight they began to believe, but did not yet believe fully. Belief was not to be a mere response to the evidence, however persuasive that may have been. Rather it would always stem from an encounter with the risen Lord himself. Only such an encounter could make the Scriptural context of rising from the dead clear, now with Jesus at the very center of the story. Only the recognition of the triumph of life over death demonstrated definitively the reason for the life of Jesus, and therefore the reason for all of history up until that point, and finally also the new horizon and direction for the future that had opened as a consequence.

‘He has been raised from the dead,
and he is going before you to Galilee;
there you will see him.’
Behold, I have told you.”

Being told about the resurrection causes joy to begin to stir in us. But it is still mixed with fear that comes from uncertainty and limited understanding. Like the women at the tomb we need to let the joy guide us into the fullness of encounter with Jesus. It is in his presence that fear is cast out, that contradictions are resolved, our confidence is restored, and our hope is made firm. The disciples on the way to Emmaus demonstrate why we need to experience the risen Lord for ourselves. They had been so certain that Jesus had been the one. Now the women were suggesting that he was still alive. But they simply couldn't process that in the context of the Scriptures as they understood them. Just as with Peter and John, "they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead". And so, what did Jesus do? He unlocked those very Scriptures for them. He demonstrated how he was at the center of everything described therein, such that it was fair to say that Moses wrote of him specifically (see John 5:46).

Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
he interpreted to them what referred to him
in all the Scriptures.

It was not just the Scriptures that did the trick. It was their encounter with the risen Lord through the Scriptures. Not only that, it was in the context of the breaking of the bread, that is, the Eucharist, that this encounter took place. Jesus is always present in his word, which is why the letter to the Hebrews calls it living and active (see Hebrews 4:12). But combined with his Eucharistic presence it is something else again. Or, at least, it can be. If we are there on autopilot the meager abilities of the clergy to preach, even if they are faithful and accurate, might not prove sufficient wake us up to the presence of Jesus among us. But if we let the rumors of joy and words of the angels guide us we ourselves will set off with intention toward the possibility of that encounter. Yet when we prove unable to do so, still too wounded by grief to make much forward motion, he is still more than capable of taking us by surprise and revealing himself to us. But in that case too we must respond for the revelation to transform us. When the possibility of joy arrives among us we must urge it to remain until Jesus makes himself known. Let us say with those disciples, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over".

It is only the peace and the joy that only the risen Lord can give that can make sense of the darkness of our world, give our lives value even in spite of death, and our struggles purpose even in spite of impermanence. It is this joy that is meant to define as Christians. It makes us recognizably different from everyone else who must see all of reality against the horizon of eventual death. We must open ourselves to this joy so that the good news may spread to every person in every land. May what was said of the early Christian community also apply to us today: "And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit" (see Acts 13:52).

Matt Maher - Christ Is Risen

 

4 April 2026 - something strange is happening

 

From An Ancient Homily For Holy Saturday, taken from the Office of Readings
(Audio) 

Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity. 

Vineyard Worship - Bring Your Kingdom

Ike Ndolo - Awake, O Sleeper

 

3 April 2026 - the throne of grace

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

In the Passion narrative from the Gospel of John we see a variety of archetypes of opposition against Jesus. We see the religious leaders who were jealous of his success, who were upset that they received less attention than him, and who wanted his popularity and influence for themselves. It seemed to them that had somehow invalidated the purpose of the positions they held by the way their importance was relativized to be less significant compared to him. They wanted to insist on being the protagonists in the own stories and were unwilling to yield the lead role to Jesus. With them were guards, who perpetuated violence in the name of doing their jobs. Perhaps they rationalized their role by assuming Jesus was a danger to the Roman government. But they did not nothing to change their plans when they found him to be anything but a threat, far different than they must have expected based on what his opponents said of him. Then their were the Judean crowds who too easily succumbed to a mob mindset and a thirst for the spectacle of violence. They had a reason for this violence rubber stamped for them by the religious leaders and shouted their endorsement to ensure they could behold it. 

So Pilate said to him,
“Then you are a king?”
Jesus answered,
“You say I am a king.
For this I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

Pilate was such a modern figure, not openly hostile, willing to listen to Jesus explain himself. Yet by being unwilling to actually stand up for Jesus he actually created the conditions that led to his death. Although he desired to wash his hands of it, without his approval Jesus could not have been crucified. It became evident that what Jesus said was true. Those who were not actively for him would eventually be implicated in opposing him. If only Pilate had been willing to see that, regarding Jesus, there weren't multiple conflicting truths, but rather one objective truth. If he hadn't been felt the need to be so political, to balance multiple conflicting demands as though they were of equal value, he might have been able to take a stand for Jesus and to save him. But it was not the plan of Jesus to be saved. It was for this reason that he allowed himself to be handed over to Pilate, because he fully intended to drink the cup that his Father gave him.

One of the slaves of the high priest,
a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said,
“Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?”
Again Peter denied it.
And immediately the cock crowed.

The final type of opposition to Jesus we will consider is that of the unfaithful disciple. Even aside from Judas, who intentionally planned to betray him, his other disciples failed to be good friends to him in his hour of need. They fled at the arrest. Even the desire of Peter to remain close to him was not enough to overcome his need for self-protection. He denied Jesus rather than allowing himself to face any risk to life, limb, or even reputation. He was willing to go to any length for Jesus when he appeared ascendant. But in this hour of weakness and apparent failure he couldn't bring himself to share the lot of his master. He probably thought to himself, 'What good will it do if I die as well?' No good, perhaps, besides love.

We probably have a little of all of these archetypes in us, each of us containing the potential to oppose or betray Jesus in a variety of ways and for a variety of reasons. If we recognize this in advance we can avoid it. We can make good resolutions in how we will act in difficult circumstances. We can commit ourselves to speak up for Jesus no matter the consequences.

But there is something else worth saying about all of these people and groups aside from presenting them as cautionary tales. The fact is that it was for all of these that Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (see Luke 23:34). There wasn't a form of opposition that Jesus didn't foresee. There was no sin so grave that the sinner disqualified himself from God's mercy. Jesus came to show mercy knowing in advance all of the sin and opposition he would face. And he did it anyway, not for some imaginary group of innocents, but for sinners like them, like you and me.

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (see Romans 5:8).

What does all of this mean for us now, here, today? The letter to the Hebrews tells us:

So let us confidently approach the throne of grace
to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

Songs In His Presence - Surely He Has Borne Our Griefs

 

2 April 2026 - mission statement

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come
to pass from this world to the Father.
He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.

Jesus had a purpose driven life, defined and motivated by his mission. Everything he did was from his loving obedience to his Father and his merciful love for mankind. Because he was clear about his purpose he did not hesitate to follow through when things got tough. When, humans speaking, other paths might have seemed easier, Jesus did not forget the reason he had come. In this he was somewhat unique since only his entry into life on our planet was preceded by a choice on his part. The entire plan of his life had been something which he accepted while resting in the loving heart of his Father. But that purpose was hard to fully appreciate as an outsider to the inner life of the Trinity. It was for this reason among others that Jesus acted it in symbol as he washed his disciples feet on Holy Thursday.

he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.
He took a towel and tied it around his waist.
Then he poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet
and dry them with the towel around his waist.

He had previously stripped off the outer garment of his divine glory in order to enter the world and wash humanity free from ours sins by water and the Spirit. He set aside his prerogatives as the All Holy One and chose to come into close personal contact with sin, disease, and death, so as to heal our bodies and our souls. Make no mistake, these are more repulsive by far than the dirtiest of feet. But he did not disdain to reach out his healing hand and touch us so that he could cleanse and heal us. This trajectory of the incarnation was also described by Paul in his letter to the Philippians.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (see Philippians 2:5-8).

When we are exposed to the light of God's holiness it is normal to feel embarrassed as Peter did. We may not wish to become so vulnerable to servant love that we try to say with Peter, "You will never wash my feet". But it is crucial that we allow the saving love of Jesus to wash us if we want to share in his heavenly inheritance, since without holiness no one can see God (see Hebrews 12:14). It's interesting that such an easy thing can actually be so difficult for us. It isn't as though he asked Peter to go and complete some monumental penance or perform a large number of praiseworthy actions. He asked Peter to be passive so as to allow the divine power to work in him. But perhaps Peter, like all of us, had trouble believing that he was really lovable when all his filthiness was exposed. Maybe we fear that Jesus will see our feet, gag, and change his mind. The light of his presence heightens our awareness of the vileness of sin. But Jesus, for his part, does not hesitate as long as we concede to let him work. He is more clear about our faults than we are and yet he loves us more than we love ourselves. Thus it is not only sin that he heals by cleansing us, but our wounded hearts. We, like John, come to believe in God's love for us (see First John 4:16). Eventually. Hopefully.

You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’  and rightly so, for indeed I am.
If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet,
you ought to wash one another’s feet.

If we have been transformed by Jesus it isn't simply so that we can sit around and enjoy it. Our feet are cleaned in order that they may be beautiful in bringing the Gospel to others. As is written in Isaiah, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news" (see Isaiah 52:7). Jesus shows mercy to us so that we can let that mercy flow through us to others. He serves us in order that we might become true servants. It isn't just that he gives us a model to imitate. He makes our hearts like his own heart so that we might love others as he first loves us.

Matt Maher - Come To The Water / I Will Run To You

 

1 April 2026 - not fooled

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?

Judas thought he was the one handing over Jesus to the authorities. But in fact Jesus was the one allowing himself to be handed over. In proof of which we see Judas unintentionally fulfilling the oracle of Zechariah, where the sheep traders set the value of the faithful shepherd at thirty pieces of silver when "they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver" (see Zechariah 11:12). Judas also fulfilled the type of the brothers of Joseph who sold him into slavery for a sum of silver (see Genesis 37:28). In short, God had planned for this all along, and Jesus was not caught unaware.

Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,
‘The teacher says, "My appointed time draws near;
in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”‘

The Gospel texts leading up to the Passion are replete with evidence that those events were not a surprise or an accident to Jesus. The appointed time was drawing near and everything had been arranged just so for the climax of the life and mission of Jesus. Jesus knew all along that Judas would betray him, knew all along that his disciples would flee, knew that even Peter would perjure himself against him. He knew that the crowds that welcomed him would shout for his death mere days later. He had been offered earthly kingdoms by the devil. But he had come for something more. Had he come to seek human glory he would have gone to every possible length to avoid the eventualities he knew were coming. But he had come to seek the glory that comes from God and thus fulfilled the words of the servant in Isaiah, "I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame". As the letter to the Hebrews states, Jesus "for the joy that was set before him endured the cross" (see Hebrews 12:2). Everything was under control. Everything was going according to plan, even if, to all outside appearances, everything was falling apart.

Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,
“Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”
He answered, “You have said so.”

Aside from Judas the other eleven knew themselves as flawed and fallible. Unlike them, Judas did not ask sincerely, out of genuine humble concern that he might fail as a disciple and in some unimaginable way betray his Lord.  Judas had already agreed to definite plans of intentional betrayal of innocent blood. In some way he must have thought himself as wiser than Jesus to attempt such a thing. He must have either come to doubt that Jesus was who he claimed to be, or else he must have thought that he could provoke Jesus into revealing himself immediately. He probably thought that he had managed to conceal this even from Jesus himself. And it was thus the fact that Jesus clearly knew, and told him so, without doing anything else to circumvent his plan, that sent Judas spiraling out into the darkness. The fact was that he had not outwitted Jesus. He was able to do what he did because Jesus had allowed it all along. Yet, though Judas rejected Jesus, a crime because of which, it "would be better for that man if he had never been born", Jesus never rejected Judas. The fact that Jesus was there, looking on him with compassion, considering him with a brother, with sorrow in his eyes as he said, "You have said so", must have been an incredible shock to the practically and financially focused Judas. It must almost have shaken him enough to wake him up, to snap him out of it, and free of the diabolical influence to which he had succumbed. But by then it seemed that Judas had become convinced of the sunk-cost fallacy, that, with such effort invested, there was then no turning back.

The Lord GOD has given me
a well-trained tongue,
That I might know how to speak to the weary
a word that will rouse them.

When circumstances seem to be spiraling out of control let us listen to the words of Jesus who will remind us that none of this is unforeseen by him. It can all be made to serve his plan. We must remember that we don't actually know better than him, lest we form our own plans as Judas did, imagining them to be superior. It is chilling to know that an excessive focus on efficiency and results can eventually lead to such a place. The circumstances often will look bleak. But if we listen to Jesus he will subtly show us that providence is always at work. He will inspire us to get through even the worst darkness of Holy Week so that we too may arrive at the resurrection.

See, the Lord GOD is my help; 
who will prove me wrong?

John Michael Talbot - Hosea

 

31 March 2026 - not surprised

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

"Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me."

He knew the one who would betray him, but did not immediately single him out. Rather, he forced them all to engage in introspection about whether and under what circumstances any one of them might betray him. We know that, except for Judas, they wanted to imagine themselves as people who would never do so. But, appropriately, they weren't entirely confident in themselves. They didn't know what circumstances would bring. Nor did they have absolute confidence in their moral character. Hence they asked, "Surely it is not I, Lord?" (see Matthew 26:22). This lack of trust in themselves was later confirmed when they all fled and thus failed to be the loyal friends and disciples of Jesus that they wished to be. But in this instance Jesus was identifying, not the fact that the disciples would choose avoidance of danger over following Jesus, but rather the active hostility of Judas. He probably began sincerely, as someone who really believed in Jesus, and wanted to see his mission succeed. He had, at one time, truly been a friend to Jesus. But somehow that friendship had soured along the way, his trust in the plan of Jesus failed, and his belief in his ability to accomplish his mission was compromised. But this was all the more tragic because it was truly a betrayal. And it was truly a betrayal because it had once been a true friendship. Hence the way Jesus singled out Judas alluded to a Psalm:

Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me (see Psalm 41:9).

But what tenderness Jesus showed in identifying his betrayer in this way. By demonstrating that he knew in advance what would happen he revealed that he was still fully in control of the situation, choosing to lay his life down rather than having it taken from him. By referring, however obliquely, to Judas as a friend, even in this last moment of their fellowship, he seemed to indicate that, for his part, he hadn't abandoned Judas, even in spite of the full knowledge of his betrayal. Such unearned mercy and steadfast love ought to have made it possible for Judas to repent and return even after committing the most grievous of possible sins. It was clear that this reality remained with him after he did what he did. It was obliviously in conflict with the despair he felt over what he had done. And although from an external perspective it appeared that the despair won yet may we hope that in some way unseen by all he accepted the mercy that Jesus never ceased to offer him.

Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.

Normal people glorify themselves by demonstrations of their wealth, their power, their talents, or their privilege. But Jesus was glorified in weakness and in self-surrender. He was glorified in his death because it was there that he definitively revealed his love for the Father. His Father's love for him was also revealed, even before the resurrection, since it was only this love that could explain the motivating force behind Jesus's unwavering resolve, his willingness to embrace the cross. It was because he believed so absolutely in the love of the Father that he was able to entrust the salvation of the world to that love. 

Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me?
Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow
before you deny me three times."

Sometimes we hear Jesus speak about our weakness and we think he is speaking in condemnation. But his point was not to condemn Peter. It was rather to give him hope that Jesus was not surprised by his flaws. Jesus knew that although the Spirit was willing the flesh was very weak indeed. So hindsight about this statement from Jesus may have first given Peter cause to kick himself and feel even worse, as kind of divine 'I told you so'. But that was not the intent. The intent was to give him hope enough to return, so that his threefold denial could be repaid with a threefold affirmation of love.

Jesus was in control even when he appeared to be anything but. It appeared he was overwhelmed by circumstances beyond his control. But he made those very circumstances conduce to the salvation of the world. Our world and indeed our own lives often appear to be out of our control. But, if we love Jesus, he can still make all things work together for our good (see Romans 8:28). For a time we must still contend more with weakness than with glory. But glory, like the dawn, shall come.

And I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

Tom Booth - The Jesus Song

 

30 March 2026 - the impracticality of love

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

"Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days' wages
and given to the poor?"
He said this not because he cared about the poor
but because he was a thief and held the money bag
and used to steal the contributions.

We need to be careful lest we demonstrate the same duplicitous nature as Judas, who acted as though he cared for the poor in order to appear virtuous. When we are so fixated on practical matters and material gain the useless extravagance of love tends to offend us more than inspire us. The fragrance of love that fills the house, meant to inspire us, seems to choke us instead. Yet, to merely human ways of thinking, such acts of love as the anointing of the feet of Jesus do seem hugely impractical. We tend to see people who would go to such lengths as weak or as dominated by emotion rather than being ruled by rational logic. We might even expect Jesus to defend the point made by Judas, condescendingly explaining to Mary how the money could be put to better use. But he did the opposite:

So Jesus said, "Leave her alone.
Let her keep this for the day of my burial.
You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.

Somehow Mary's seemingly excessive display of love, when one considered whom it was that she anointed, and what he was about to do for her people, and for all of humanity, was the most appropriate act possible. Respecting the dead probably seemed rather negligible in the grand scheme of possible goods. Thus this pre-anointing in particular probably seemed insignificant. Yet it turned out that proper concern for the dead was the only attitude that was appropriately attuned to the eventual possibility of resurrection. It looked toward the final solution to the ultimate problem facing mankind. Sin and death also had symptoms, and it was appropriate to treat them. But treating the symptoms would never solve the underlying problem. Nor could any merely human effort. If one wanted to truly love one's neighbor she needed to prioritize her love for Jesus himself, since only by his death could the victory of life be realized.

Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil
made from genuine aromatic nard
and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair;
the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. 

What seemed to be an utterly impotent act was revealed to be more significant than many eminently practical and functionally successful programs and policies. It didn't exactly do or accomplish anything. It was valuable in itself, for what it was: an outpouring of love. And yet it did have an effect after a fashion since "the house was filled with the fragrance". The fragrance was like that of a liturgical offering. But its pervasiveness was an invitation to all who were close to give themselves over more fully to the love of the one who inspired this love in one of his beloved.

Matt Maher - Your Love Is Extravagant

 

29 March 2026 - prisoners of hope

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Go into the village opposite you,
and immediately you will find an ass tethered,
and a colt with her.

We note first how precisely Jesus had everything planned out. There was a donkey and a colt in a specific place he predicted. He gave specific words which were adequate to address the concerns anyone might have about why the disciples were taking them. There was a specific place where he desired to celebrate Passover, and a chosen individual who would consent to host he and his disciples. 

His mission as a messiah appeared to be reaching a climax as they entered the city. It must have looked to the disciples like he was in complete control and knew exactly what he was doing. And he was and did. But what he was doing was still not what anyone really expected. These anecdotes about his careful planning may have been merely several among many intended to demonstrate that he was in fact in control, particularly as it would soon appear that he was anything but. He wanted his disciples to realize that although he would be handed over it was because of a more fundamental way in which he handed himself over. His life would not be taken from him. Rather, "I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again" (see John 10:18). The horror that was about to unfold was no accident, but rather part of the eternal plan of God, designed to bring about our salvation.

Say to daughter Zion,
"Behold, your king comes to you,
meek and riding on an ass,
and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.

He was not coming to begin a military conquest, as Matthew indicated by citing the words of the prophet Zechariah. It might have seemed that his supernatural insights and abilities would have been perfect for the military leadership necessary to throw off the yoke of the Romans, as though he were a modern Maccabees. But the yoke of the Romans was not his target. His strategy and tactics were rather employed to take aim at the true enemies, Satan, sin, and death itself. A good human tactician might find a way to resist an oppressive foreign rule. But only a divine intellect could ensnare death itself so as to destroy it. Let us hear a little more from the prophet Zechariah that speaks to what Jesus would accomplish and how:

As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
today I declare that I will restore to you double (see Zechariah 9:11-12).

Because of the new covenant in his blood Jesus would indeed set prisoners free from the waterless pit of death. Therefore they would be no longer prisoners of the enemy, but prisoners of hope, waiting to receive double for all that they had endured and suffered. 

The crowds preceding him and those following
kept crying out and saying:
"Hosanna to the Son of David;
blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord;
hosanna in the highest."

No doubt the crowd recognized that Jesus entering the city in the way he did was an explicit confirmation of the fact that he was the messiah. Finally, they thought, his victory was at hand. And again, it was, but not in the way they expected. And so they shouted with joy and the top of their lungs and laid their cloaks on the path before him. And this is our tendency as well. We celebrate Jesus when he seems triumphant, his Church when it seems effective, and the way God is at work in the world when it seems direct and unchallenged. But we are often as quick to change our tune as were the crowds, as were even his own disciples.

We may go out from the Passover meal singing the Hillel songs. But when we try to endure with him in the garden we tend allow sleep to overtake us rather than remain present to him in distress. Once the crowd comes out with swords and clubs we are typically as quick to flee as anyone rather than stay with Jesus and share his fate. 

Then all the disciples left him and fled.

It is hard for us to come to terms with the necessity of the death of Jesus, that our salvation had to come about in this way, rather than by some easier and more pleasant means. If he had been looking merely for a military success it surely would have been possible to keep everything positive for his allies, at least for the moment. But as he had his sight set on solving a more intractable problem more was required. He knew on Palm Sunday that those who sang hosanna would later be the same ones to shout, "Crucify him!" But these were the very people he desired to save. And it was from this fickle inability to commit themselves to the Lord from which he would save them. He had to expose the duplicitous and sinful nature of the common heart of humanity in order to bring it into the light and heal it.

Even before the Father fully vindicated Jesus through the resurrection there were already signs of hope. How could it be otherwise? By dying, the king had in fact already triumphed.

And behold, the veil of the sanctuary
was torn in two from top to bottom.
The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened,
and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised.

These initial signs were persuasive enough to make those keeping watch say, "Truly, this was the Son of God!" Yet even so, Jesus was still in the tomb. Life seemed to continue without missing a beat, as though the very Lord of life had not gone missing. The women, at least, seemed to sense that this was not, could not be, the end of the story.

But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
remained sitting there, facing the tomb.

For our part, we know well how the story ends. But we do well not to rush through the path that leads to that end. From staying as close to Jesus as we are able on this journey of his we hope to have new levels of love for him awakened within us. We hope to learn to be prisoners of hope even before we see that hopes realized.

I will proclaim your name to my brethren;
in the midst of the assembly I will praise you:

Hillsong Worship - Hosanna

 

28 March 2026 - for worse or for better

Today's Readings
(Audio)

What are we going to do?
This man is performing many signs.
If we leave him alone, all will believe in him,
and the Romans will come
and take away both our land and our nation.

The ability of the darkened human mind to blind itself to the action of God among us is striking. When many others, for good reason, came to believe that Lazarus had been raised, and therefore came to believe in Jesus, the Sanhedrin didn't even consider the possibility that they might be right to do so. They were so worried about the persuasiveness of the signs that they feared that eventually "all will believe in him". Perhaps they saw themselves as intellectual elites who would not be fooled like everyone else. But it is not exactly clear that they were certain his signs were false. They seemed more concerned about the practical matter that his signs were inconvenient for the status quo which they enjoyed at that time in relative comfort. Yes, they were under the power of the Romans. But at least they still possessed their land and their nation, and were able to enjoy their ancestral heritage. Things were far from as good as they could be. But they were mainly concerned about all of the ways in which they could easily become worse. But they were so concerned as to miss the much bigger picture which was nevertheless clearly unfolding in their midst.

You know nothing,
nor do you consider that it is better for you
that one man should die instead of the people,
so that the whole nation may not perish.

Caiaphas clearly intended to say that Jesus ought to be put to death so that the Romans would not turn hostile and dispossess them of their land. Without realizing it, he was in fact suggesting that the greatest possible goods, the possibility of reconciliation with God and eternal life, should be sacrificed for the political status quo. All that was represented by the raising of Lazarus was rejected in favor of a basic affirmation of the Roman occupation. In a way, it was like the people who complained when they were led forth from Egypt. They preferred the comfort of servitude to the freedom of the Sons of God. 

Through the gift of prophecy at work because Caiaphas was the high priest, however, God said something else. He stated the truth of the value of the sacrifice of the lamb of God: that it was better for one man to die, bearing the sins of the people, and thus saving all. If Jesus died in this way the whole nation need not perish in a way that was spiritual and eternal. And it was not only the nation that stood to gain from the sacrificial self-offering of Jesus. It was all of the dispersed children of God who would be gathered together as a result of his death and resurrection into a new and everlasting Kingdom who would benefit together. Thus there was something at stake much greater than the political status quo. By giving himself up to death Jesus would unlock the promise made through Ezekiel in our first reading:

I will take the children of Israel from among the nations
to which they have come,
and gather them from all sides to bring them back to their land.
I will make them one nation upon the land,
in the mountains of Israel,
and there shall be one prince for them all.

Hopefully we ourselves are not so blind to the goodness of God as were the religious leaders in the time of Jesus. But we nevertheless sometimes encounter situations in our world in which people seem shockingly oblivious to the true, the good, and the beautiful. By the actions they take they absolutely seem to put first priority on the wrong things, ignoring or actually sabotaging higher goods as collateral damage. But we see that, as with Joseph, what man intends for ill good is more than able to use for his own purposes (see Genesis 50:20). It usually involves a cross before it involves a crown (as it did for Joseph). It almost always goes beyond our ability to understand or predict. But, and this is important, it is certain, more than the coming of the dawn.

I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.

 

Matt Maher - Behold The Lamb Of God