Taking Flight in Easter Joy
In spite of the recent awareness of the interference of geese with air travel, their V-formation in flight provides a powerful image of community on this Second Sunday of Easter. Each bird flies slightly above the bird in front of him, resulting in a reduction of wind resistance. The birds take turns being in the front, falling back when they get tired. In this way, the geese can fly for a long time before If a goose becomes too exhausted or ill and has to drop out of the flock, it is never abandoned. A stronger member of the flock will follow the failing, weak one to its resting place and wait until the bird is well enough to fly again.--Philip Yancey What is demanded by our baptism, and what is front and center in this Eastertide, is the same kind of communal commitment. Insuring the welfare of others within a reconciling community is the hallmark of Christ’s command to his followers. Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.
Though the events of the past week and the horror of witnessing his suffering and death had generated fear for their own safety, Jesus’ reassuring presence has begun to transform that band of disciples. The evangelist uses the example of the absent Thomas to illustrate the mindset not only of Thomas but of that early faith community as well in order to model for us our own approach to the Easter mystery.Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.
Jesus is appealing to his disciples then and now to recognize in his suffering and death the key to our own call. Coming off the sacred rituals of Holy Week when we had Christ’s suffering and death in clear focus, we are now invited to touch the wounds. Today’s liturgy invites to move from spectators to participants in the ongoing Easter story.Christ’s presence to the poor, the hungry, the widow and the orphan, outcasts: the “prostitutes, tax collectors and sinners” of his earthly ministry, become for us the focus of our ministry, touching through the marginalized and alienated the very wounds of the Christ. Our Easter faith leads us to a selfless commitment to the community. But like the disciples then, we too have remnants of fear and doubt. We may fear for our own welfare in these trying times of economic turmoil. What will happen to me overrides concern for the poor. The severity of the issues facing us these days can feed doubt that there is any chance for change. Reading the article in yesterday’s Washington Post about the effects of the current economic crisis in Haiti challenged my own lingering fear and doubt..Haiti, a Maryland-size nation in which 80 percent of the population lives on less than $2 a day, offers perhaps the most worrisome example of how the recession could worsen poverty in the region's vulnerable countries.........
.......And residents are still trying to recover from four hurricanes that pounded Haiti last year, killing 800 people and causing $1 billion in damage. In a sign of how strained family budgets are, many Haitians can't even afford to spend 12 cents to buy a mud cookie, asnack consumed by the poorest. A community rooted in the death and resurrection of Jesus cannot ignore the story of the poor. The community Luke described in today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles is a call to us to imitation Before the aura of Easter Sunday fades from memory, the Scriptures call us to a community of service and reconciliation. Touching the wounds of Christ is no longer a cause of sorrow, as it was last week. Now the wounds of Christ joyfully put us in touch with the centrality of his mission and his message: With great power the apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus
As we take flight in Easter joy, our “V-formation” bears witness to the resurrection as a healing community committed to service to others.
