What We Really Need

“He paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them.
Peter said, ‘I have neither silver nor gold,
but what I do have I give you:
in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk.’”

Acts 3:5-6

First published April 20, 2022.

When Peter and John saw the crippled man who was begging for money by the gate of the Temple, they approached him. Although they had no money to give to him they went to him. The crippled man fully expected to receive something from them, at least a few small coins, but they gave him no money. What the two Apostles offered to that crippled man was something greater, not silver or gold, but rather an invitation to encounter the Risen Lord.

The two Apostles implored the name of Jesus Christ and told the crippled man (who has been so from birth) to rise and walk. With the help of Peter’s hand, the man slowly got up with strength restored to his legs, and he went off to praise and worship God in the Temple. While the man hoped for alms, the Apostles offered him something that would actually help him; not enough to just feed him for a day, but something that would transform his life and change the trajectory of all his days. Jesus, through the Apostles, wished to feed not just the man’s stomach but also his soul. He knew the man needed something more. It was not only his crippled condition that caused this man to be downcast. There was also a crippling of the heart and soul, and Jesus wanted to breathe life back into those areas.

Oftentimes we may ask for something because we really think we need them. But in life we have probably come to experience that we do not always get what we want or even what we think we need, but whatever it is that we received was exactly what we needed at that moment. Although we may not have been able to see it then, when looking back, it becomes more evident. When asking the Lord, we will always receive the unexpected. We will always receive that which we really desire, deep down in our hearts and souls. When we ask, and if we are open, God will always fulfill our deepest desires and needs. What are those crippled parts of our bodies and hearts? Let us invite the Lord to breathe life into them. May we come to encounter the Risen Lord who knows all that we need so that in knowing Him, we may come to receive that which really is most unexpected — a share in the life of God and the status of sons and daughters of such a loving God.

For another reflection I offered on this passage four years ago, click here.

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The Gospel reading for today is the beautiful passage on the Two Disciples on the Road to Emmaus. For a reflection on this, see “Obstacles to the Heart.”

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The Stone Removed

“On the first day of the week,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.”

John 20:1

Alleluia! Jesus is risen! He is truly risen! The Paschal Lamb that was slain for us and whose blood washes us clean is risen and He dies no more. What a joyous day! Death has been conquered and Jesus has the final say. And we, Christians, who have been baptized in Christ and in His death, will also share in His Resurrection.

When Mary of Magdala went to the tomb to visit Jesus she found that the stone covering His tomb had been rolled over. She immediately thought someone had stolen Jesus’s body. So, what does she do? She runs to Peter. Here we can see that Peter has a special role in the life of the community then, and hence we say Peter is the first Pope and all the popes that came after were successors of St. Peter. There is a primacy that is given to Peter and his office. We can see this in the Gospels. Jesus first calls Peter before any other Apostles. Jesus brings Peter with Him wherever He goes — up the mountain where He was transfigured and to the Garden of Gethsemane. And now, after Jesus has died, when problems arise, they go to Peter, the visible head of the Church and representative of Jesus. After Mary tells Peter and John about the stone being rolled over, they run to the tomb. Why? Did they run because they wanted to see if the tomb was really empty? Did they run because they thought somebody stole the body? Did they not believe Jesus’s word that He would rise on the third day? So, why did they run?

Perhaps they ran because they were hoping to see Jesus there, but instead they found some burial cloths. If Mary came to us today and told us the same thing, what would we do? Would we run? Would be doubt and question? Would we run to see the empty tomb and rejoice in the Lord’s triumph over sin and death? The stone from Jesus’s tomb was removed so that the disciples might come to see and believe. What are the stones in our lives that remain unturned that keep us from seeing Christ and believing in Him? Jesus wants to roll them away just as the stone from His tomb was removed. Let us allow Jesus to remove the stones that close us off so that we might gaze into the empty tomb and come to believe. And may we exclaim, “Alleluia! He is risen!”

Happy Easter to you!

For a Easter homily I wrote and delivered last year, click here.

Stillness of the Earth

Originally published in April 2021.

“This is the night,
when Christ broke the prison-bars of death
and rose victorious from the underworld.”

from the Exsultet (Easter Proclamation)

Today the earth stood still. Our Lord’s body is in the tomb. He has gone to the land of the dead. We are told in the Apostle’s Creed that “He descended into Hell.” Have you ever thought about that? It was not enough that Jesus died, He descended into hell to destroy death once and for all. How awesome is that? Jesus loved us so much that dying on the cross was not enough. He loved the people, even those who persecuted Him and who put Him to death, but He also loved those who have gone before Him. We are told that Jesus went to the place of the dead (see picture below), broke open those gates, and brought with Him all the righteous - Abraham, Moses, and all those who have gone before Him, so that they could enjoy their eternal reward. He even brought with Him Adam and Eve. Jesus reversed what Adam did, being obedient to the Father, and not eating of the tree, but dying on it.

Jesus came for all, even those who have died before Him. That is why perhaps St. Paul wrote to the Philippians that “… so that at Jesus’ name every knee must bend, in the heavens, on the earth, and under the earth, and every tongue proclaim to the glory of God the Father that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!”

Jesus didn’t just die on the cross. He went into Hell to bring with Him the righteous, definitively conquering death. On this day, the earth stood still. But soon, it will rumble because Jesus is making His way back up.