Ever-living God, help us to celebrate our joy in the resurrection of the Lord and to express in our lives the love we celebrate (Opening Prayer, VI Sunday of Easter).
The Resurrection is not only an object of passive contemplation, a mystery to be observed, meditated on and admired. It is also the engine of human transformation. Contemplation of the Resurrection does more than open the eyes. It changes the heart. Such contemplation accomplishes more than the assimilation of the important event. It humanizes according to its own image. Restored humanity is the work of the Spirit. A sign of that transformation is kindness. Once the risen Christ is encountered, a person is inspired to a loving disposition toward others in imitation of God’s kindness in Christ. Kindness evokes sympathy for the situation of others and calls to respond with acts of humanity. Despite the fact that he did not yet know Jesus as risen, Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple who sought the Kingdom of God. He was touched by the Spirit of the risen Christ in an anticipatory way. The Spirit’s fruit of kindness was evident in his response to the crucifixion. With great feeling, he went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus so he could bury it. Who else among the disciples thought of doing such an act of kindness toward the broken Christ? What Joseph did was truly an act of humanity. May the whole Church of the Risen Lord model itself on this man of kindness!
Even at night, it can’t be forgotten that milk is white. (Havu)
This is what makes our faith so great; so mysterious and deep, but so simple. We catch glimpses of the intellectual Truth from time to time, but acting with generosity and love can be richly embraced every day. Hopefully it makes us a living statement of something very profound w/o a word spoken.
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