Apr 28., 2019 / Features, Homilies, Soul Food, Updates and Activities
Let Christ easter in us
Homily of Fr. Eric Marcelo Genilo, S.J. at Cenacle Retreat House on April 27th, 2019 (Saturday)
Since Easter Sunday last week, the gospel reading for each day was about a resurrection appearance of Jesus. The risen Jesus appeared to different people at different times – He appeared to Mary Magdalene at the tomb, to two disciples walking to Emmaus, to the disciples hiding behind closed doors in Jerusalem, and to Peter and the other apostles by the Sea of Tiberias. This Sunday we read about Jesus’ appearance to Thomas. For each of these appearances Jesus brought about a transformation, helping individuals and groups of people to move from darkness into light. For Mary Magdalene, Jesus took away her grief and gave her joy and a mission to proclaim the resurrection. For the two disciples walking to Emmaus, Jesus transformed their discouraged hearts into hearts burning with the good news of the resurrection. For the disciples hiding in Jerusalem, Jesus replaced their fears with an assurance of peace. At the sea of Tiberias, Jesus gave Peter the chance to replace his denials with declarations of love. In Sunday’s gospel Jesus gives Thomas a chance to replace his doubt with a profession of faith.
What does this series of encounters with the risen Jesus tell us about God? It tells us that God remains a very personal God. If Jesus just wanted to show he is risen in the most dramatic and direct way, he should have appeared at the temple of Jerusalem. But he didn’t. The resurrection isn’t simply about getting the message out in the most efficient way – it is about individual transformation, one person at a time. That’s why the risen Jesus took the time to console Magdalene and walk with a couple of discouraged disciples to Emmaus. Even when Jesus had appeared to the disciples in Jerusalem, he came back just to appear for Thomas who missed the chance to see him. He came back for Thomas – like a shepherd seeking out a lost sheep. Our Lord always deals with us in a very personal way. He knows each of us so well and he understands our deepest desires and he knows what we truly need.
This Easter, what can we ask our risen Lord to transform and heal in us? What sadness can he console or what fear can he take away? What guilt can he forgive or what doubt can he remove? What special Easter grace do we want from Christ? Don’t be afraid to ask Christ what you desire. The Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins has a wonderful line near the end of his long poem the Wreck of the Deutchland
“Let him easter in us, be a dayspring to the dimness of us.”
That is the invitation of our gospel readings this past week. Let Christ easter in us.
Easter Vigil @Cenacle Retreat House, 2019
Read our Easter Vigil homily: http://
To read more about the poem: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44403/the-wreck-of-the-deutschland
