Dear Brothers and Sisters of the 4th Day,
On this Easter Day, for just a moment, reflect on these words from the Gospel of Matthew.
“Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples.” (Matthew 28:8)
What devastating emotion the women must have felt upon hearing from the angel that Jesus was not in the tomb, where they had personally laid him to rest. They most surely were afraid of what His missing body meant, while at the same time being overwhelmed by the possibility that what He had promised may have actually happened. They are in a time between fear and joy, in a time between uncertainty and answers.
We experience these times also, don’t we? When we get news too hard to handle on our own, when our doubt overtakes our faith, or when our frustrations get the better of our joy.
I suppose it is in the midst of these times, between fear and joy, when we must put our trust in God the most. Because isn’t this where we come to know His immense love, where our faith grows stronger, and where our hope in Him is found? For in that hope we rise from the tomb of anxiety and despair and all that gets in the way of our joy.
Our wonderful weekend themes this year help us to see the true joy which comes from “Trusting in Jesus” and “Letting God” take hold of those times in our lives when we struggle for answers or wonder what is coming next.
The Cursillo Journey is one of faith, enhanced by our piety, study, and action. It is also an experience of resurrection, of sharing our own dying and rising in the real and concrete circumstances of daily living. This is why we need one another, all of us, to help carry one another’s burdens and share in our joys.
“Then Jesus said to them, do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me” (Matthew 28:10)
So by the light of the Risen Christ, let us march onward, Ultreya, to our own Galilee, our own environments and beyond. Then like those who first encountered the empty tomb, “Do not be afraid to run and announce what you have heard and seen.”
Blessed Eastertide to all, and De Colores!
Deacon Wayne