In many ways, we are like those first disciples, so it seems to me.

We are like the women coming to the grave that Easter Sunday. They had heard the promise of Jesus that on the third day, the Son of Man would be raised from the dead by the Powers of God. They had heard his promise to the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” They had heard Jesus teach, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me will never die.”

Nevertheless, on that morning when they came to the grave, they came expecting death, did they not? When they came that morning to the grave, in spite of all of Jesus’ promises, they came expecting death.

And I am suspicious that you and I are like those women. Even though we have heard the promises of God. Yes, we have heard the promises over and over again e.g. on the third day I will rise; today you will be with me in paradise; I am the resurrection and the life. We have heard these promises but we come to our graves, and like the women on that first Sunday morning, we are expecting death.

For deep down in everyone’s soul is a pessimism that believes that this is all there is. They put you in a box; they put you in that grave; and in time the box and the vault will decay, and your body will decay like all the others.

Why do we have this inner feeling, this inner pessimism? Sigmund Freud calls it the “death instinct.” Common to all human beings and all animals, and human beings are part of the animal kingdom, we have this instinct. Deep down inside is this fear that this is all there is.

And so we come to the graves of life, the graves of our mothers and fathers, and grandmas and grandpas; we come to the deathbeds of life, and we finally come to our own deathbed and we quietly pray: “I believe, help my unbelief.” And we die.

We sleep. And then…then…we awake and say…”Hooooly cow!!! It is so incredibly beautiful!!! Stunned. Breathless. And we are astonished and astounded, amazed and awestruck, dazzled and dumbfounded with the beauty that God has prepared for you and me.

The Apostle Paul was right when he said, “No eye can see, no ear can hear, no mind can imagine the good and wonderful things that God has prepared for us.”

Thanks to Edward F. Markquart for these thoughts

Do YOU have a deep down fear inside that this world is all that there is? How often do YOU pray the words of the Doubting Thomas:  “I BELIEVE, HELP MY UNBELIEF!”

EASTER IS GOD SHOWING US THAT LIFE AT ITS CORE IS SPIRITUAL AND TIMELESS!

Please share these words with people in your parish and with priests that you know.