The Pascal Mystery

True Easter Joy that never ends 

What is that? And how do I get it?

The rain to the wind said, 

‘You push and I’ll pelt.’
They so smote the garden bed 

That the flowers actually knelt, 

And lay lodged – though not dead.
I know how the flowers felt.
-Robert Frost

A mom or dad, a spouse, a child or friend dies; the moving away from a beloved home; the end of love and giving up of dreams during divorce; a dying pet who has been a companion; aging or injured minds and bodies; retiring without a new purpose, many losses…our heart aches, our mind strains to understand, our body exhausted. I imagine the women and men in today’s Gospel, after the joy of entering Jerusalem with Jesus among crowds of believers, wondered what just happened? After losing Jesus so violently and suddenly, did they feel pushed and pelted? In their grief and fear of the religious leaders they forgot Jesus’ previous promise that he would not leave them orphaned and he would come to them (John 14:18-19). He did. Jesus, the resurrected Christ, came to them to show them he had not left them alone. He came a second time just for Thomas because this promise is for all of us.

 

As a mental health therapist, I have listened to countless stories of loss, grieving, violence and trauma. I have been asked hundreds of times, “how do you do it?”. When I am pushed and pelted by one person’s story or a month of many stories, I eventually have to pray. My sadness grows, my heart aches, I become tired. Sometimes I ignore these feelings for a little while because even I, the therapist, don’t like to feel them. But then, I talk to Jesus.

 

Just a conversation about the hurts. Sometimes I cry a little and sometimes I cry with a sobbing that aches. But then, the stillness amazes me every time. It is quiet and calm. It is no longer heavy. Jesus shows up for me over and over. There is peace. Then joy returns, often through the people in my life.

 

As a community of disciples, we can talk and pray together in trying times, in grief, in loss, in all times. We can remind each other that the risen Christ comes to heal and bring peace to us. We can bring joy to one another. Then, we can proclaim : 

True Easter Joy Never Ends