Divine Surprise
“The story of Easter is the story of God’s wonderful window of divine surprise.” ~ Carl Knudsen
Surprise, shock, or catastrophe? I guess it all depends upon the perspective of the viewer. To some who had more of an understanding of who Jesus was, perhaps, the resurrection was a wonderful surprise. To those who didn’t understand Jesus at all and who may not have accepted Him, the resurrection would have come as a shock. Then there were those who plotted against Jesus, who arrested, tried, and convicted Him and led Him to His death on a cross. To them, the resurrection would have been a catastrophe. All their plans would have been dashed.
We are still in the octave of Easter. To that end, we celebrate Easter each day this week so great is the celebration of the resurrection. For some, Easter is already finished. They had family over for dinner, they went to church, and they are on to the next thing in their lives. There may not have been enough of an element of “divine surprise” to their Easter celebration.
Easter and the celebration of that special day should so fill us with joy that we do not want to let it go. We should be moved to echo its joy more than the one day which is why the Church gives us the celebration of Easter and its octave. That gives us more of an opportunity to explore the depths of Easter.
I often compare the celebration of the octave of Easter to trips to Walt Disney World. (Some of you are saying, “Of course he does.”) If you have ever been there, you know that there are many visitors who scour the park looking for hidden Mickeys. The Imagineers placed all sorts of objects together to make the famous Mickey ear shape and it is a quest for some guests to find as many as possible. Personally, I have never involved myself in that search but when I come across one, I often marvel at the discovery.
The octave of Easter is kind of like a quest for Hidden Jesuses. Each day at Mass, we find a different element of Him and discover another way that He showed Himself to His followers. As we make those discoveries, we realize that there are many ways that Jesus is around us each day. Jesus is not hidden from us. He is there, in plain sight. It’s just that we do not see Him. Perhaps because we are not looking for Him.
FAITH ACTION: Open your eyes. Look at everything around you today so that you can marvel at the many wonderful ways that Jesus reveals Himself to you.