Love God. Live the Eucharist.

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Easter Sunday, April 16, 2017, by Fr. Kevin Anderson

I invite all the little children to come up here (even with your parents if needed). Today is a day when kids all over the world are looking for Easter Eggs. This is a custom that goes back to the early days of Christianity, when people not only gave up meat during Lent, but also eggs. On Easter, they could finally eat them. So to add to the festivities, eggs would be hidden for kids to go look for them, just like the women went to look for Jesus in the tomb. Most often real eggs are used (hard boiled).

 

Well, we have some eggs here for you to go search for. These are not hard boiled eggs, not plastic eggs. I want you to go and find an egg for yourself.

 

[After they are done searching and return to their seats]. Searching for eggs can be fun, especially if any of you were like my family . . . making the eggs would be REALLY hard to find. But there is something therapeutic about the action of searching for eggs. Think about it, we do this action AFTER the heaviness of Good Friday. That is the sadness of Jesus dying on the cross.

 

Psychiatrist Bessel Van der Kolk, from Boston, states that after a trauma, or any heavy/sad event, it is important for people to DO SOME ACTION to aid their recovery. When there is a hurricane or bombing, many of us feel overwhelmed . . . and we just want to go to the spot and help out.

 

Bessel van der Kolk says, “Trauma really does confront you with the best and the worst. You see the horrendous things that people do to each other, but you also see resiliency, the power of love, the power of caring, the power of commitment . . . the knowledge that there are things that are larger than our individual survival. And in some ways, I don't think you can appreciate the glory of life unless you also know the dark side of life.”

 

This was clear after the tornado came through our area in March. Two of our parish households were particularly struck and we had two clean-up days. And so many of your responded to help.

I was so proud of our parish. Not only did it help the families and make them feel supported and loved . . . I think that it was also therapeutic for us to DO SOMETHING.

 

Van der Kolk says, “You need to move your body. You need to sing with other people.”

 

When there is a death, many of you automatically bring over a hot-dish or offer to do some of the home chores (like raking or shoveling snow). When a bad thing happens, many of us want to counter it with doing something good. It becomes a powerful “release” and a way to heal.

 

So as some advice to any of you who have experienced some kind of hardship or sad event lately . . . the best thing that you can do is to off your behind and do something. When something bad happens to you, the best thing to do is to do something good for someone else.

 

When you hear of a tragedy or awful event . . . don’t just sit and gossip about it . . . go roll up your sleeves and do something. I think that is why the action of LOOKING or SEARCHING for Easter Eggs has always been so powerful. We endured the sad story of Jesus’ death . . . so let’s go do something to cope (or balance it out).

 

So here is a challenge . . . you know how during Lent many of us gave up something during the 40 days of Lent to get ready for Easter? Well now that Easter is here, I challenge you to go DO SOMETHING positive during the 50 days of the Easter Season (which ends on the feast of Pentecost on Sunday June 4).

 

Maybe you want to give a compliment every day.

Maybe you might want to be a nicer person.

Maybe it is to actually go out and rake that neighbor’s yard.

Maybe it is stay after Mass and straighten up the Hymnals.

Maybe it is to write an affirming note/email . . . once a week, or even each day.

Maybe it is to get involve with the parish more . . . sign up for a Ministry.

Maybe it is as simple as “getting to Mass” each weekend.

 

Whatever you do, the simple fact of DOING SOMETHING is most important. So who cares if Jesus rose from the dead, if there is not a resurrection in you!   Big deal that Jesus conquered death, if you don’t conquer that apathy or dead attitude that you have.

 

The power of resurrection doesn’t just apply to the hour we that spend here at church . . . it is to be lived out there (beyond our walls). So just to make sure you get the point, after Mass there will be a big Easter egg hunt on our grounds.  

 

Our mission statement is to LOVE GOD and what? . . . [invite a group response]

LIVE THE EUCHARIST. Don’t just receive the Eucharist the presence of Christ . . . go live the Eucharist, live the presence of Christ.

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