Today’s First Reading teaches us that the unrest and disputes in the world have their root in humanity’s sinful rebellion against God the creator. When humanity rejects God as ruler and rebel against him, they lose any hope of true peace and happiness.

It is only the gospel of Jesus Christ that brings restoration and true change. It is only by the transformation of hearts and minds that the world will come to know peace and understand true joy Some people live stuck in the past while others live thinking about a better tomorrow. But God tells us to live in the present through today’s psalm which beautifully proclaims: “This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!”

The past is gone and that future we are either worrying or thinking about may never actually arrive, but we have today, we have this moment and we should receive every day joyfully as a gift from God.

It is unusual when we think about it – the disciples spend the evening of Easter Day behind locked doors. One would think they would be off celebrating, announcing to anyone who would listen that Jesus is alive again. Instead, they hide out. They act like disciples whose leader is dead. It is to his frightened disciples that the risen Christ chooses to appear. He has passed from life through an awful death to a life greater than we can imagine.

The Gospel proclamation says the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. We also can be joyful, when in the midst of fears we recognize Christ here with us. It is not that fear is simply driven away; rather, fear no longer controls our lives. There is one who has shown himself more powerful, and we acknowledge him as Lord.

Jesus comes back to promise us our resurrection. He comes back to reconcile us with God, and make us instruments for reconciliation in the world. He comes to break the chains of fear and we have different ways of knowing him.

We can meet Jesus in Scriptures and in the Sacraments. We can meet him in the love shown to us by others. We can meet him as well in the profundity of our hearts, even at times that we do not expect. Will we welcome him? Will we trust him?

PRAYER: Abba Father, you are worthy of all praise and glory from this time forward, and forevermore. Amen.