As the calendar turns towards Fall and we reflect on summertime, summertime reflects on nature and God’s creation. In most of the Northern hemisphere, summer is a time of plenty. The promise of spring has been fulfilled. It is truly a time of God’s creation “showing off” with the sheer abundance of new life and growth. This joyous explosion of re-birth is an optimistic affirmation of resurrection and renewal. 

It is fitting that Easter Sunday, the death and resurrection of Christ, always arrives with springtime. The dead of winter gives way to spring and the rich fulfillment of summer. It is a perfect metaphor for Christians and a timely reminder of the love and sacrifice of our Savior. We are redeemed. 

God gave us this earth.

He invited us to share in its bounty and cherish its rich resources. That’s the tricky part: we must share this magnificent gift among all our brothers and sisters, now and in the future. There are many people for whom that promise has not been fulfilled. They need us to share in this plenty because there is plenty enough for all.

We also find ourselves at a crossroads. Our planet needs our help too, our most unified and sustained commitment to heal it. It is tempting to say, “God will save us.”

He already did. 

We are not children in the nursery who have broken their toys and cry for daddy to fix it. We are a people who have been careless in our treatment of the land and profligate in our use of its resources. But we are also a people with many abilities and talents, (By the grace of God). We can honor the magnificent gift of this earth that our Father has created for us, and begin to heal it for the inheritance of our children and our children’s children.

Then, when we sit on our patios and porches, enjoying the sunny warmth of a lazy day in August, we won’t have to tell our grandchildren of the way it used to be when we were small. They will be able to enjoy this earth, play in its waters, run through its meadows, and hike its towering forests.

Let us make of our effort a prayer of thanksgiving, a paean to our creator.

Let us sing a song of summer, as Psalm 118:

“This is a day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

 

“Mary lives in union of faith with her Son all the way to the Cross… Heroically, she abandons herself to God.”

— Evangelization Calendar – April, 2021

We are suffering through an event unprecedented in living memory. Some of us have lost loved ones, friends, and co-workers. Some of us are facing devastating financial hardship. We have no past experience to help us through this. We have had to rely on the shared effort of all humanity to protect ourselves and everyone else. But, above all, we must rely on God.

It is human nature to ask, “Why is God letting this happen” Even Jesus Christ, on the cross, cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” But we are not forsaken. By his sacrifice on the cross, Jesus secured, for each of us, eternal life. We are promised the perfection of heaven. We are not promised a perfect life on earth.

Our loving Father is always with us. When good fortune comes our way, we often thank God. But when devastating misfortunes are upon us, we suddenly are tempted to blame God. God is not our “lucky charm.” He is our source of constant love and support throughout our lives in our journey back to our Father, our journey to sainthood.

We have perfect examples of trusting in our Lord and living with sacrifice and tribulations: Jesus, the Son of God, and Mary, his mother. Mary knows our fears, our sufferings, and our losses. She shares our pain. She is a mother who fled, as a refugee, to Egypt in order to save her son from Herod’s soldiers. She knows the panic of losing a child and the wild relief of finding him when, at the age of
twelve, Jesus stayed behind at the temple in Jerusalem, sitting among the teachers, instead of joining his parents on the journey back to Nazareth. And, finally, she saw him condemned to death, and suffered with him on the cross.

Throughout all of her pain and loss, her trust in God never wavered. When the angel had announced to her that she would conceive a son, she simply said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to thy word.” From that day forward, Mary abandoned herself to God, the source of all her strength. We pray to our Father in this most profound time of pain and need, and know that we have not been abandoned. We ask Mary to intercede for us as our mother, who understands our very human suffering and loss. Mary was always there with her son, trusting in God, and she is here with us now. We, too, must abandon ourselves to God.

Christmas and Easter are the two most celebrated Christian holy days. We love the joyous celebration, the decorating, getting together with loved ones – human beings do enjoy a party. Unfortunately, there is no Easter without Good Friday, that dark and terrible day when, to the followers of Christ, it looked like the end of everything. We know it marked the beginning of everything.

It was the time of Passover in Jerusalem. Many Jews journeyed to the city to celebrate. The crowds would have been huge, a perfect time for the Roman government to make an example of the scruffy rabble-rouser who called himself “King of the Jews.” Jesus’ growing popularity was seen as a threat to the stability of the Roman state. No state will tolerate any potential threat to its existence, and often quells any sign of insurrection with the execution of the leader. The Romans viewed crucifixion as a humiliation; a perfect means of killing this “pretender” and his popularity.

Imagine Golgotha on that day. Three crosses on a hill, the surrounding countryside filled with spectators. Some would be there to jeer, some would be there out of curiosity, and some filled with sadness and near despair. Very few would have understood, or even believed, that Jesus was the son of God. This penniless prophet? This son of a lowly carpenter from an obscure little village, calling himself king? Please!

Who would we have been on that terrible day? Would we have watched, callously indifferent to the suffering and dying, telling ourselves, “Surely he deserves his fate. The man was a menace.” Or perhaps we would have stayed home, assured that it had nothing to do with us. We were observant Jews, living under Roman rule. Better to stay away and keep our heads down. It’s easy to assure ourselves that we would have believed that Jesus was the son of God – but we know how the story ends.

Who would we have been among that large crowd?

Well, who are we now?

Throughout the past 2,000 years people have continued to suffer and die, sometimes for being Christians, or sometimes at the hands of Christians. All too often certain groups are met with mistrust and fear. They are not “like us.” Do we tell ourselves, “It’s nothing to do with me.” or “They must have done something to bring this on themselves.”?

All our lives we will be met with many “Golgotha” moments. How will we respond? Will we honor that sacrificial gift of love and resurrection? Will we celebrate our commitment to follow that carpenter’s son, even to the cross?