Sixth Sunday of Easter
Getting lost in a strange place is a frightening experience for little children. Whether it’s getting lost as an exploring youngster in a big store or even as an adult in a hostile situation, the most immediate need is simply making contact with someone.
If this is true in human situations, is it not also true about our spirituality? It all depends upon what we mean by spiritual relationship. Some people might define their spirituality by saying, “I say my prayers regularly, and I go to Church.” Others might claim a different spiritual relationship that is deeply personal and involves a hunger to go deeper. The more one feels the desire for more, the more one feels the pain of absence and the anxiety of feeling alone. The great mystics of the Church, past and present, speak powerfully of their experience. Some called it the dark night of the soul present even in the midst of their intense love of God.
These days after Easter and especially this Sixth Sunday of the Easter Season focus on the Resurrection of the Lord and the gift of the Holy Spirit, combining to fill in fearful gaps of mind and heart. One statement of the Risen Lord that calmed and strengthened the confused and frightened disciples, as well as the early faith community, was simply, “Be not afraid.”
The power of that assurance did not come from calming words and miraculous presence alone. The Risen Lord did something for all of us to conquer fear. Jesus has continued to step into our deepest fears of mind and heart with a gift of personal love which is perfectly suited to what we need at this moment. It is not a “free” or “cheap” love based on passing emotions, but rather the mutual relationship that calls us to our honest response of love and obedience. That ongoing discovery of the Spirit of the Risen Lord included in our Baptism is the source of new courage and new hope. We meet the Lord behind doors locked in fear, and yet we can move forward. What better time to allow our own life experience of new hope to declare to a chaotic, fearful world: “Yes, help is on the way! Be not afraid!”
Reflection by Fr. Daniel Petsche, OSB
Posted in Article for Easter, Daily Reflections