“I was not expecting that!” One of the second-grade students shook his head in wonder. We were acting out the story of the Prodigal Son. We had gotten to the point where the son comes to his senses and decides to return home. The kids were expecting this worthless son to be greeted by an angry father. Instead the father runs to him, embraces him, and kisses him. “You are still my son, and I love you unconditionally” -- that is meaning of the ring, the sandals, and the finest robe. We were not expecting an explosion of love and mercy.

We were not expecting the Resurrection. Jesus was supposed to be the King who would bring about the Kingdom of God. Instead of ending on the throne, he ended on the gallows. He had utterly failed to make an impact on the politics of the day. He had not achieved any economic success. The powerful and important had all rejected his message. His followers abandoned him just as quickly as they had joined him. The poor were still poor, the oppressed were still oppressed, and the dead were still dead. His life, by any human standard, was a colossal failure.

This ‘failure’ turned out to be the most successful life ever lived. Jesus’ life marked the turning point in human history. Everything before him prepared for his coming. His Incarnation unites him to every human being. His death was offered to forgive your sins and mine. His Resurrection is the explosion of love and mercy that we desperately need.

Jesus won a new life for us. So why are we still living the old life? Why do we keep trying to figure out how to become successful by human standards? Why do we run from past failures and try to bury them? Why do we judge ourselves by the image in the mirror or the amount in our pocketbook? Why do we let fear and anxiety control us? Why do we run from the Father’s love for us? Awake O sleeper and rise from the dead and Christ will give you life! The Resurrection will only change your life when you begin to believe in God’s love and mercy. Stop trying to survive in the pigsty. Come home to the Father’s love for you. On that first Easter, Jesus rose from the dead. This Easter, it’s your turn.

Peace and Easter joy,
Fr. Joel