The Season of Fifty Days

Dear Friend,

We’ve entered the season of fifty days - and what will they hold for us? The Easter Gospels of surprise offer us hope-filled clues. Thomas encounters the Risen Lord in a locked room. With two companions on the road to Emmaus, Jesus meets befuddlement very patiently - gradually, the meaning unfolds…their eyes are opened.

During Lent, some of the readings from John pointed us to a major theme of his Gospel: “to believe”, that fundamental disposition of openness to the truth, which, as Sandra Schneiders puts it, makes a person capable of seeing the glory of God whenever and wherever it is revealed.” What’s more, in John’s Gospel, “faith” as a noun never appears; it is always a verb - “to believe” - always presented with a certain dynamism, a bias toward “action” you might say (“Written That You May Believe”, p. 87.). In John’s Gospel, Jesus is pulling people out of victimhood and into victory, as his own death is depicted as an event that displays the victorious glory of God.

As we move through the Easter season, we are on a journey with Jesus Christ toward a new vision - a new vision of ourselves, others, and the world around us. Easter is as much concerned with conversion of heart as was Lent - only from a slightly different perspective. Lent points us to Easter; Easter points us to Pentecost. Our conversion - coming to believe - is infused with hope on the Lenten/Easter path.  

The Franciscan scholar/writer Father Dan Horan puts it: “Conversion is difficult because it requires the willing effort to change behaviors, attitudes, and adopted aradigms.”  The dynamism of Jesus Christ beckons us. The season of fifty days offers us encounters with the Risen Lord, who came to rise in my life and yours.

 Gratefully,

 Fr. Dan ofm, Pastor