[Invite kids to come up to Sanctuary]
Do you know what this is? [Plastic egg] And what usually goes inside one of these? [candy]
OK I’m going to tell you a story. It involves a little boy named Joey. Joey was a nice kid, a good kid….but unfortunately he was considered ‘slow’, a special needs kid, and it took him longer to figure things out, to learn or to understand.
Well, Joey was in school. And he had a great teacher. She was always trying to make sure that he fit in. You know, that he understood what was going on, that he never felt left out. Well at Easter time, the teacher gave each child a plastic Easter egg and asked them to go home and put something inside that represented Easter. The big day came, all the eggs were collected. The teacher picks out the first egg. Who’s is this? . . . Megan (a butterfly), Allison (a heart), Michael (a rock)….a rock? “It has some moss on it.” Finally she gets to Joey’s egg but she can tell that there’s nothing in it. Joey yells out “that’s mine,” but Joey there’s nothing in it. “That’s because the tomb was empty.” This is a true story.
After Mass today, there is an Easter egg hunt for you outside, around the church. Egg is a symbol for Easter that started way back in the Middle Ages when people gave up eggs for Lent, so on Easter they finally got to eat them. But it also a symbol of life, with a chick coming through the shell, like Jesus coming through the tomb . . . and so it is empty, just like Joey said.
I have an acronym for EGG.
E - Excitement. Can you feel it? It’s that Easter excitement or energy. [I ask the kids . . .what’s exciting about today?] Just like the disciples experienced, so we can have: excitement to start over. Our past is past. Our sins are forgiven. Just as an egg is symbol for life, so we can be excited to begin anew.
Some years ago, a parishioner told me that her niece (who attends a different church) asked, “Can we go to your Church this Sunday? It’s always more lively there.” We do have an alive Church. As I have always said a good liturgy, which is centered on Christ needs 3 things: good preaching, good music and good hospitality. That’s where you all come in. You can add to the Mass by your enthusiasm, by how you respond or sing . . . but especially as you welcome one another. Perhaps it’s time for you to reach out to the neighbor or family member and invite them back to church. Share what you get out of attending.
G – Growth. Don’t settle for how things have been. Think of “what if” or “maybe when.” Just as we are preparing to break ground for our new Church, don’t get stuck like the disciples did after the crucifixion but think of possibilities and the exciting things that God has in store for you.
St. John Cardinal Newman once wrote, “To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.” On the bulletin cover for today, I wrote that the story of Jesus risen can be best understood in the people themselves. They were changed and we are invited to be changed.
G – Gratefulness. Whenever you are faced with a difficult challenge or whenever you can’t think of what to say in prayer. This is always your big takeaway. Be quiet and think of things you are thankful for RIGHT NOW.
A grandpa said to his granddaughter, “I’ll give you a quarter if you can tell me all the places where God is.” “Grandpa,” I’ll give YOU a quarter if you can tell me all the places where God isn’t. The tomb is empty; Jesus is alive . . . IN US. How we live. Share the message.
Let me repeat to you one of my favorite lines from St. Francis of Assisi. He said, “Preach always and when necessary use words.”