Monday Meditation – Participate - 4/10/2023

Happy Easter Monday!

I don’t know about you, but I am coming down from a “high” – I participated in most of my church’s Triduum services, and they were just wonderful. I really felt pulled into the reason that we celebrate Easter.

On Thursday we remembered the Last Supper and how Jesus instituted the Eucharist. He served his disciples by washing their feet and explaining that this was what they must do as well.

On Friday we walked with Jesus through his condemnation, the scourging, his walk toward his cross, and his death and burial. We anguished with his Mother and the disciples as Jesus suffered the most excruciating death imaginable.

On Saturday we waited.

And finally, on Easter Sunday, we celebrated Jesus’ triumph over death as we watched him rise in glory. We rejoice that Jesus has overcome death and paved the way for us to enter Heaven’s glory. Hallelujah!

So, what next?

My pastor gave an excellent homily yesterday – he stated that those people who observed Jesus’ death and resurrection were witnesses. He went on to explain that “witness” can mean being a bystander and observing what has happened, or it can mean being a participant in the event. He asked us which one we were.

Many people were at the death of Jesus. Most were merely bystanders who just watched. The disciples were bystanders too, but during the Last Supper and through Jesus’ resurrection they became participants. They were transformed by these events, and they believed. Then they acted and shared this good news with others. They remembered Jesus’ death and resurrection each time they broke the bread. So do our priests at every mass. And we who attend mass are also participants in this amazing event, and hopefully we are transformed by it like the disciples were.

But we cannot merely go to mass and then leave and do nothing else. If so, we are merely bystanders. We should encounter Jesus in the mass. The mass should transform us! We must live our lives in a manner that tells others that we have encountered Jesus, and that we believe in everything Jesus taught.

I plan to continue being a participant in Jesus’ death and resurrection. I will continue to share the good news – not only in this blog but in my whole life. I will try to be an example of what Jesus taught us. I pray that you too will be participants with me. We have been blessed by Jesus’ precious gift to us – so I encourage you to bless others with your lives.

Have a blessed Monday!

Faye

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