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Catholic Community of Jeffersonville St. Augustine & Sacred Heart

Homily
by
Father Thomas E. Clegg

Easter Sunday 2008      St. Augustine/Sacred Heart     2008

Happy Easter…

  The season of the resurrection; also the season of holy humor.

A little girl, dressed in her Sunday best, was running as fast as she could,

   trying not to be late for Easter Sunday Mass.

     As she ran she prayed, 'Dear Lord, please don't let me be late!

       Dear Lord, please don't let me be late!'

While she was running and praying, she tripped on a curb and fell,

    getting her clothes dirty and tearing her dress.

       She got up, brushed herself off, and started running again!

As she ran she once again began to pray,
    'Dear Lord, please don't let me be late...But don't push me either!'

Sometimes, like the little girl in the story we need a little push…

    A push to do the right thing….

        A push to take a chance when we need to….

           A push to move in the direction that we need to move,

               But we are just a little bit afraid to go there.

If you find yourself to be at times, that kind of person,

  then perhaps this Easter Mass is your little push.

You see, tonight We are surrounded with Easter beauty in this Church.

   We have flowers and light.

       We have the Easter Candle and vibrant colors.

And we have the beautiful words of scripture to match.

    Tonight (last night) at the Easter Vigil we have heard our story:

      The beauty of creation, of which we, humankind, are the culmination.

          Stories of Faith with Abraham and Freedom with Moses.

Then St. Paul’s treatise on baptism reminding us

   that when God grabs hold of us, God never lets go.

Finally, we have the Gospel story---the story of the resurrection!

This year we hear Matthew’s version and two things stand out for me.

      The first is the image of the angel, rolling back the stone and sitting on it.

 I imagine this angel sitting there, his feet wagging back and forth,

   an impish smile.

 And as the women approach I can imagine him thinking to himself,

    I know something you don’t know…I know something you don’t know.

But then the angel notices that the women are not in a playful mood:

   They’re afraid and the angel tells them: “Do NOT be afraid!

The same words Jesus’ uses just a couple of seconds later;

     “Do NOT be afraid.”

This is just one of the 18 times in the Gospels that Jesus tells his disciples

    Do not be afraid.

Angels tell the disciples of Jesus Do Not be afraid another 6 times.

It makes me wonder why this message is so prevalent in the Gospels.

   But just as soon as I wonder that I also know the answer.

Many, many times in our lives we are motivated by fear.

   We are afraid of what others might think, so we play it safe.

     We’re afraid that we aren’t good enough to do something so we don’t try.

       We’re afraid something won’t work and so we don’t give it a chance.

Many, Many times in our lives we need a push to do the right thing,

   Because by ourselves we get paralyzed by our fears.

Like the farmer sitting out in front of his barn on a hot summer day.

    His neighbor happens by and says, “how’s your cotton this year?”

       “Didn’t plant none,” the farmer said, “afraid of the boll weevil.”

    “Well, how’s your corn?”

         “Didn’t plant none…afraid of the drought!”

     “How about you potatoes”

          “Ain’t got none, scared of the tater bug.”

His neighbor finally asked, “Well what did you plant?”

    “Nothing” the farmer said, “I played it safe.”

And if we find ourselves like that

    then perhaps this Easter message is meant for us.

We have, in the risen Jesus, a God who tells us not to play it safe.

    We have, in the risen Jesus, a God who challenges us to NOT be afraid.

        We have, in the risen Jesus, a God who challenges us

to love with reckless abandon,

    to live with incredible passion,

         to include with radical inclusion,

 and to believe through it all that he is always with us.

As you begin this Easter Season, where in your life are you most afraid?

   Where is it that you are playing it safe?

      Where do you need Jesus to give you a little push and tell you:

          do NOT be afraid.

I saw a poster one time…

  it was a picture of a group of ships sitting in a harbor.

The caption read:

   A Ship in a harbor is safe…, but that’s not what ships are built for.

And we too can play it safe,

    But God wants so much more for us.

My friends, the tomb was empty…

    Jesus conquered death…

When it comes right down to it….

     What is it that we are afraid of?

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