SermonStudio

Speaking in the street since mid-morning,
great crowds have gathered.
- Movement is difficult, if not impossible.

Children on top of their fathers' shoulders,
trying to catch a glimpse of His face.
- Old men straining their ears to hear.

And now, as if in reply to someone's question,
His voice:

"He who has seen me has seen the Father."

Not a word,
as if they're all stunned
- but toward the edge of the crowd, the sound of angry voices:

"He actually believes this
- that he's the same as God.
He ought to be crucified for blasphemy."

Now a rumble throughout the crowd -
the disciples become uneasy - urging Christ to leave.

But giving no heed to the disturbance,
He continues -
- the crowd grows quieter
- though some hate Him, they listen.

Elsewhere,
at the same time,
Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue,
stands beside the bed of his dying daughter.

Already, the fever has taken its toll
- for hours, not a word.
He can tell -
in her breathing, already the sound of death.

Now, grief-stricken,
he remembers this Jesus,
the one the religious leaders don't like.

Desperate,
at the point of exhaustion,
he rushes out to find Him.

Walking quickly,
almost running down the narrow streets,
he sees the crowd;
among them, the priests, His friends - the poor.

Pushing his way through the crowd,
Jairus falls down at His feet.

"Lord, my little daughter is almost dead.
In the name of God, do something!
Come, Lord, and make her live."

A voice calls out from the crowd:

"Your daughter is dead.
He cannot help you."

Our Lord only smiles -
He follows Jairus through the crowd,
hordes of people trailing behind
to Jairus' house.

By now, the household is in an uproar,
the servants crying,
some have rushed into the street.

And Our Lord speaks with the utmost compassion:

"Why do you mourn and weep?
The child is not dead - but sleeping.

"Take me to her,
that you may see the love of God."

Going now into the room where the girl lies,
with Jairus, his wife, some friends,
the girl is obviously dead,
and Jairus begins to cry.

But bending over,
taking her by the hand,
her hand that is cold with death,
he says to her:

"TALITHA CUMI:
Little girl, I say to you arise."

"TALITHA CUMI,
Arise,"
and immediately,
the girl arises, and walks.

Out of death, life.

"For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish
but have eternal life."

Some time later
another crowd has gathered.

Only now, He doesn't speak.

He simply hangs there,
His face matted with blood,
His head crowned with thorns,
His breathing difficult and heavy.

Again, someone in the crowd shouts out:

"This is God?!
Look at Him - He's dying!"

The women now break down completely -
and, embracing His feet,
they drench them with their tears.

And now, others join in their mockery:

"Save yourself, Christ.
You saved others - now save yourself."

Again, Our Lord looks upon the crowd:

"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Enraged,
they rush toward the cross,
spitting on Him, and cursing Him.

A soldier shoves them aside
- he kneels by His cross,
and they cast lots for His garment.

Now,
in the middle of the afternoon,
the sun hiding its face amidst a veil of clouds,
He cries out:

"Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit."

And breathing His last, He dies.

He dies
- His broken body, later taken down,
and buried in the hillside tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.

Broken, beaten,
crucified upon a cross,
the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

"For God so loved the world
that He gave His only Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish
but have eternal life."

Several days later,
the disciples are gathered together in the Upper Room.

There are Peter, James and John,
Andrew, Simon, and the rest -
- only Thomas is missing, out gathering food.

Peter appears to be shaken worst of all,
- dark circles around his eyes from crying
- his troubled mind remembering Jairus,
remembering his own denial of Him,
His teachings, His words,
how He helped others.

But then it happens.

At first,
like sunlight through the wooden door,
the form appears before them.

There in their midst, Christ stands before them
- His hands outstretched to embrace them to Himself.

"It is I, Peter,
I am risen."

Overawed, Peter falls down at His feet.

"Arise, Peter.
- See the place where they drove the nails,
see the wound in my side."

They behold His hands and His feet,
the marks of the thorns on His forehead,
the gaping hole in His side.

"My peace I leave you,
My peace I give to you.

"Verily, I say unto you,
I am the Resurrection and the Life."
Easter.

Christ's Resurrection from the dead.

"For God so loved the world
that He gave His only Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish
but have eternal life."

God's love for each of us
is constantly reaching out to us.

He reaches out to us
to save us,
to share His life with us.

He reaches out to forgive us our sins,
sins that we crucify Him with,
and sins that crucify us.

He reaches out to raise us to new life,
from the death that we can make our lives to be,
and from the death that all of us face at the grave.

Can we pause for a few moments
and reflect on His love for us:
the love He has shown to us through Jairus' daughter,
the love that He has shown to us on the cross,
the love that He has shown to us in His
Resurrection.

And in all of this,
can we be grateful for His love,
and accept His love into our hearts?

For as we can do this,
we will know the truth of these words,
deeply,
intimately,
personally
in the depths of our souls:

"For God so loved the world
that He gave His only Son
that whoever believes in Him should not perish
but have eternal life."

Amen.


AN ACT OF LOVE

O my God, I love Thee above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because Thou art all-good and worthy of all my love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of Thee. I forgive all who have injured me, and ask pardon of all whom I have injured. Amen.


THE DIVINE PRAISES

Blessed be God. Blessed be His Holy Name. Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man. Blessed be the Name of Jesus. Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart. Blessed be His Most Precious Blood. Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete. Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most Holy. Blessed be her Holy and Immaculate Conception. Blessed be her Glorious Assumption. Blessed be the Name of Mary, Virgin and Mother. Blessed be St. Joseph, her most chaste spouse. Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints. Amen.