Amen, amen, I say to you,
we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen,
but you people do not accept our testimony.
If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen,
but you people do not accept our testimony.
If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
Christians announce what we have seen and heard. This is our duty. Our authority relies on our personal experience and on the One who sends us. We need both the conviction that comes with a very clear memory of what we have witnessed, and on assurance of the Lord’s backing.
And so we hear in today’s gospel, Jesus’ admonition to Nicodemus, “…we speak of what we know…”
Our recent celebration of Easter should have been more than a memorial of a past event. Few of our colleagues, neighbors, and acquaintances care about what happened two thousand years ago in a backwater of the Roman Empire. If we have something to say to them; that is, if we speak of what we know; we come from the recent and personal experience of Easter.
This has been a very different Easter! We did not walk in the Palm Sunday procession; we did not have our feet washed; we did not reverence the cross on Good Friday; we neither attended the Easter Vigil nor the Sunday Mass. We have yet to sing the Gloria although Lent ended almost two weeks ago.
This has been a very different experience for each of us. This might be the year when we ask one another, “How did you celebrate Easter?” or, at least, “How did you observe Easter?” And finally, “How did you experience Easter?”
People sometimes ask me, “Is it a sin to miss Mass?” I answer, “Did you miss Mass? Did you feel a sharp sense of absence? …of wishing you were there? Like every day since then something has been out of kilter, alop, wrong?
If you missed Mass – or in this case, Easter – in that way, you have not sinned. Your heart is in the right place.
But if you missed Mass and didn’t miss it, you need to ask when did you lose your faith.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.