A clergy friend of mine remarked the other day that he found it difficult to preach during the Easter season – the excitement of the big day is past, he said, but the Lord has not yet ascended, and the Spirit has not yet come. For these 40 days until the Ascension, Jesus just keeps on popping up to convince the disciples that He was alive, and they keep on not getting it.
This got me thinking: what was really going on during those 40 days? We have done a good job documenting the events of the 40 days of Lent, especially Holy Week, but what about the first 40 days of Easter? What was Jesus doing? Among other things …
He appeared to Mary Magdalen. Note that she was not chosen as the Apostle of the Resurrection because she was a woman, as certain feminists like to claim, or because she was Jesus’ lover, as says a currently popular lie. She was chosen to be the first bearer of the Good News because she was the first one to show up at the tomb, intent on doing her duty even when it seemed futile. And great indeed was her reward. May we, like Mary, continue to do our duty, even when we are tired, discouraged, unappreciated, unrecognized, and just don’t feel like being bothered any more. Our reward, like hers, will be an encounter with the Risen Christ.
He presented the needed evidence of His Resurrection to Peter and John, two members on His inner circle, who came to check up on the incredible tale of Mary M. May we, like Peter and John, not dismiss without checking, even when we find the claims incredible. Remember, we serve an incredible Lord.
He dealt gently with Thomas’ doubts, showing him by the evidence of the wounds in His hands and side that both Crucifixion and Resurrection were real. To this day there are those who “can’t believe in a God who …” But this is the God we have, and still He deals gently with our doubts and fears, showing us the wounds in His Body. Let us “touch and see” that it is He.
He explained the Scriptures to the Emmaus disciples – and also to us. Rather than joining the ranks of those “scholars” who tell us that the Gospels are an invention of the Evangelists (have you heard the latest, that the Shroud is the Resurrection?), let us continue to look to the Lord, who “opens our minds to understand the Scriptures.”
What was Jesus doing? He was busy!!
Angie Forde
