Jesus Christ is Risen, Alleluia! He is Risen indeed, Alleluia!

Happy Easter! I would like to repeat a couple of things that I wrote after the tragic killing of students and teachers in Texas on May 24^th. Firstly I wrote, “I pray that God may be with the people of Uvalde, Texas, and all those who have been traumatized again by a senseless shooting. In fact, God is there! God is in the shared compassion between people, in the loving comfort offered to the grieving, and in the hope for a better world.” At the end of my reflection I added, “God has been, is now, and will be with the people of Uvalde, Texas; Buffalo, New York; and every other place that God’s creatures live. God will be with us through it all. The challenge for “us” is to recognize that there is only “US” and there is no “THEM” in God’s eyes.”

We are never separated from God’s love. St. Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord, (8:38-39). This teaching indicates the greatness of the message of Christ. The presence of the God-man on earth, in history, is the great reminder of God’s intimate nearness to us. In these final days of the Easter season, the scriptures the church has chosen repeat the themes of oneness in God, and between God and humanity.

Because of that unity in God and with us, we must seek unity among ourselves as the human race. To our own injury, we allow “difference” to be an obstacle in human relations. It must not be so, or we will end up in complete disarray, chaos, and even violence. THANKFULLY, EACH OF US IS UNIQUE! Regularly, I remind the congregation in my preaching about that truth. We are beloved, uniquely, by God. We love others, uniquely, as we are. We are not all “the same” but we are all equal in God’s eyes. Why then do we seek to make “difference” to be so important? Our equality is the most important!

Parents and other adults, we must teach the children not to let a difference to become the reason for separation, or bullying, or other kinds of harassment. If we adults tease, laugh at, and criticize others because of the differences we think we notice, our children will learn quickly to do the same. Jesus teaches us another way. He welcomes the different ones like sinners, lepers, shepherds, women of bad reputation, tax collectors, the thief on the cross, etc. “Outsiders” are key persons in his life and teachings, e.g. the Magi, the Samaritan and the prodigal son. Let us celebrate our uniqueness as God’s beloved children. 

Jesus is Risen, Alleluia! 

Peace, Fr. Andy