Most people enjoy a good mystery. Thousands of movies, novels, and TV programs
succeed on the basis of keeping people engaged in the question of whodunit,
laced with hints, motives, surprises, and finally an exciting conclusion. This week in our liturgical calendar is all
about the greatest Mystery of all time, the Paschal
Mystery. The Lord’s passion, death,
and resurrection is a Mystery with a
capital “M” in the sense that we cannot fully comprehend why God would put Himself
through all this, just for us. Although
we already know the outcome, the Mystery
of why He would suffer, die, and rise from the dead baffles us. It would have been so much easier for Him to accomplish
our salvation with a mere wave of His hand, or word of mercy and
forgiveness. The human mind and body is
repelled by the notion of suffering and death, and yet, the crucifixion of
Jesus is the very symbol of our faith. Why
He would do this, escapes our understanding precisely because we are human and
cannot know the mind of God.
We attempt to understand and explain His actions but simply
cannot. This is a Mystery we will never solve, but are called to embrace and
accept. If we are willing to embrace it, this Mystery
can empower and enliven us in ways we would never have thought possible. This is because the Paschal Mystery is at its’ heart, the Mystery of Love, love so
powerful that it conquers everything… everything, including suffering and even
death. Of our own accord we may be able
to forestall or mitigate suffering, but we have no power over death. Eventually, each and every one of us will succumb
to death. During our earthly lives, we struggle
with brokenness caused by our own sinful mistakes. Despite our greed, lust, and selfishness, and
all the ill-effects they cause, Our Lord renders thees shortcomings powerless
to destroy us. All of our sinful
mistakes are washed away in the blood of the cross which not only overcomes the
effects of sin, it conquers even death itself.
In a wonderful homily last year, one of our Fort Myers
priests made this point poignantly when he said,
“If we accept the Paschal Mystery as
the template for our lives, and allow the power of the resurrection to infuse
every part of us:
. . . our failures will not crush
our spirit.
. . . our sorrows will not break
our heart forever.
. . . our disappointments will
not sap our strength.
. . . our unfulfilled dreams will
not extinguish our hope.
. . . our sin will not scar us
forever.
. . . and even our illness and
death will give way to a life that has
no end.”
(Fr. Bernie Dang -2013 Easter homily)
This is the power of the incredible Paschal Mystery, a power unleashed on
the world through the death and resurrection
of Jesus. This is why we celebrate
Easter. Sadness and disappointment do
not win. Hatred and anger do not
win. Not even death wins! God wins!
Every time!
With this firmly in mind, what is it we must rise
from? Whatever is keeping us down,
whatever is crushing our spirit, will not and cannot win. These may be our Good Friday moments of
suffering and pain, but we know in our hearts that this is not the end of our
story, we will rise from this, better days are ahead. This is why we celebrate. This is the Good News of the Resurrection. This is what comforts us during our trials
and pain. This is what inspires and
transforms us, so that we too may learn to love as God loves: sacrificially,
unhesitatingly, and unconditionally.
Perhaps this is why God brought about our salvation the way He did: He
not only forgives and saves us, He gives us hope and inspiration. If we enter fully into the Paschal Mystery, we will be changed forever, and in doing so we too can
help change the world.
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