The Second Sunday of Easter is frequently referred to as “Low Sunday,” but that is an unfortunate choice of words, isn’t it? I’d prefer not to assume that there will be fewer people in the pews in church on the Sunday after Easter Day or that something about that Sunday’s Mass will seem deficient. Indeed, we are only just beginning our Eastertide journey. While Lent consists of forty days, Eastertide has fifty days. In this Sunday’s famous reading of “Doubting Thomas” (although the word “doubt” never occurs in the original Greek text!), we are challenged to confront all that makes us afraid of being Christian. What are you afraid of, and how will the Risen Christ empower you to move beyond fear?
Historically, the Great Fifty Days after Easter has been a period of “mystagogia,” a time for the illumination of the “mysteries” of the faith and when the Church traditionally prepared newly-baptized persons for ministry and service. Might we say that the common liturgical deemphasis on the Great Fifty Days has non-liturgical ramifications? In what ways does everything stop at the door of the church after Mass? Is formation divorced from worship and ministry? Is mission rooted in worship? Do we engage in acts of service and outreach without anchoring them in the truth of Jesus’s resurrection? Eastertide is precisely the season to put our money where our mouth is. If we profess a crucified and risen Savior, then we are also called out from behind the closed doors of our churches into service of the poor, neglected, lonely, and oppressed. We are asked to ensconce all we do in the astounding truth that Jesus was raised from the dead and ascended to his Father’s right hand, therefore enabling us to accomplish even greater works than he did (John 14:12) because of the Holy Spirit’s power. How’s that for a charge?
At the Great Vigil of Easter, everything became new. We lit a new fire, from which the Paschal Candle was lit. We blessed new water in the font, which was poured into the holy water stoups by the church doors and sprinkled on the heads of the faithful at Mass. New bread and wine were consecrated at the First Mass of Easter. So, during Eastertide, we, too, are made new once again by God.
What will this look like for us? For some of us, we might make an Eastertide resolution to forgive those we have refused to forgive. The Risen Christ is the One who gives us power and authority to bind and loose and thereby gives us grace to forgive. For some of us, Eastertide could be an opportunity to become evangelists for the Good News that has brought light and life to our broken lives. More than simply inviting someone to church, evangelism is a visible commitment to allowing one’s entire life to radiate the love of Christ. For some of us, Eastertide is a chance to prayerfully discern the spiritual gifts that God has given each of us for ministry. We all have gifts that are intended to be used, not hidden under a bushel basket. How will you use yours? In what ways are you afraid of using your gifts and why? If I can be of assistance in discernment of your own spiritual gifts, I would be delighted to speak with you about this.
This Eastertide, consider this: let the small, flickering light of the Paschal Candle (which is lit for liturgies during the entire Fifty Days) be a reminder of the Light that enlightens the world and that defies death. Let the Paschal Candle’s light be a summons to overcome whatever is keeping you afraid of living fully as a disciple of the Risen Christ. Let this light be a powerful beacon of hope that when death does its worst and speaks its lies, a greater truth calls more powerfully: come and see, and you will be changed.
Yours in Christ,
Father Kyle