Heart to Heart: Faith Seasons Podcast

Today's Season of Joy reflection on Acts 3:1-10 is by Roger Auer.

Roger was the first campus minister at Elder High School and was there for 37 years. He and his wife Mary have three daughters and currently 5 grandchildren. He was a member of the New Jerusalem Community for 30 years. He is currently on the board of Over-the-Rhine Community Housing and the Western Wildlife Corridor. He has nothing but gratitude for the life he has been given.

from Acts 3, 1-10
...a man crippled from birth was carried
and placed at the gate of the temple called “the Beautiful Gate” every day
to beg for alms from the people who entered the temple.
When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked for alms.
But Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.”
He paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them.
Peter said, “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk...”

Read the full reading here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041223.cfm

Reflection
Today's reading is one of my favorites. It was only a short time after Jesus' death and Resurrection. The two disciples already had gotten it. They knew how to build and participate in this Kingdom that Jesus spent so much of his time talking about. It reminds me of a quote from one of my favorite plays, A Christmas Carol. Ebenezer is complimenting his friend, Jacob Marley, saying that he was a good businessman. And Jacob replies, "Benevolence, forbearance, the common good. They were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business."

He did not come to this realization until after he was dead. And I believe this truth is very difficult for Americans today to appreciate. Because [for us] it's all about my success; it's all about my life being successful. The challenge of seeing mankind, in fact, as your business is something I believe very few Americans come to. 

Paul gave us a pretty good idea with a pretty sweet list on how to participate in this "Body of Christ" as he called it. The only problem is that the list is about 2,000 years old. For myself, I believe we can update the list. 

I was the campus minister of an all-boys High School for a little over 25 years. [In that time] I was able to make some connections because one of my jobs was to organize community service for the boys. I got to know community members and community organizations that could really benefit from some intensive help from high school students over a short period of maybe two to three hours. 

One of the greatest gifts that I can still appreciate is that even though I'm retired now, I can still use those connections with the school and with the community to set up service opportunities. Two weeks ago, we got about 50 young men from this particular high school out to clean up the neighborhood in eight different groups. It was a wonderful day interacting with the neighborhood and after it was over there were a lot of smiles on the faces of the neighbors and on the faces of the high school kids. 

Now maybe we do have silver and gold that we can contribute to the building of the kingdom. Or maybe we have the gift of healing; the gift of healing relationships and interactions between people of different races and different backgrounds. 

Maybe, just maybe, our contribution in that way will in fact be part of building this Kingdom. This Kingdom that we so want to live in before we die. And so during this time after Easter, maybe we need to ask ourselves what it is that we can contribute in order to participate in the building of the Kingdom. Thank you.

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Back in high school, eons ago, I was leaving a basketball game with a group of friends and was a bit downcast because a boy I had a crush on didn’t seem to even know or care I had come to the game. As my friends and I approached the exit, I heard someone call out, “Wait, Nina, I’ll give you a ride home.” I thought – as many teens have – that my heart would burst with happiness. But as we grow up and our love matures, we form deeper relationships. My mother, in her late 90’s was approaching death and lay in a coma-like sleep. Suddenly, she awakened, her face radiant with joy. She did not see those at her bedside, but she said, “Howard!” the name of my father and her beloved husband who had died over 40 years earlier. I would wager that he had called her name. Shortly thereafter, she entered eternal life. Mothers and fathers often wake out of serious slumber when one of their small children calls for them. Yes, we know the voices of those who love us and those whom we love. 

Mary Magdalene, in today’s Gospel, recognizes Jesus when he calls her name. She was not asleep, of course, but her vision was shrouded in grief. She had faithfully and fearlessly stood by her beloved teacher when he had been put to death, a criminal’s death. She knew where he had been laid to rest, and she wanted to mourn his passing there. As if the past days’ traumas were not enough, she cannot find his body in the tomb and believes someone may have stolen even that. 

Surely we can relate to her not recognizing the angels or Jesus at first. When someone dear to us dies, our eyes are not only blinded by tears but also by the pain of loss. This makes it difficult for us to see what is happening around us, what is our way forward. When that death is preceded by trauma, such as Mary experienced, then the grief is compounded. And now, she experiences another horrific blow when his body is gone and she has no idea where it is. She could not tell that the figures in white robes were angels when they asked her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She explained – probably through sobs – that her dear friend was missing, and then she turned to leave. As she was leaving, the person she assumed to be the gardener asked, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?” She again told him that her Lord had been taken away, and she begged him to tell her where they had laid him. 

 Finally, she hears “Mary!” In that moment she recognizes the voice of her beloved and runs to hold him. Jesus, probably very gently, explained that he had something he needed her to do. Love made her eager to do whatever she could for him. So, Jesus sent her to the other disciples to tell them he had risen and would be ascending to his father in heaven. Her loving relationship sent her on this first of all the apostolic missions – to tell the Good News to Jesus’ friends. She went quickly and joyfully! 

Do we hear Jesus calling each of our names? Of course, many things get in the way of our recognizing Jesus as he comes to us. But, do we spend time with him, get to know his voice, love him with all our hearts? When we are grieving, do we look for him even in what seems like emptiness? 

When he calls your name, will you happily carry out whatever mission he calls you to – no matter how great or how humble? This is only possible, first of all, if we have grown to love him. And secondly, it is only possible if we listen to him because he does call each of us by name. 

So, let’s find a quiet place, where we can become intimately acquainted with the One who loves us infinitely. Let us listen as he teaches us about the promise of the resurrection. Let us recognize the gentle, loving way he calls each of our names. And, when he does, let’s not waste any time in proclaiming to others the Good News of his resurrection! 

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Today's Season of Joy reflection comes from Becky Eldredge. Becky is passionate about inviting people closer to Jesus. She does this by accompanying people through deep waters via spiritual direction, retreats, writing, and as founder of Ignatian Ministries. You can learn more at beckyeldredge.com

To read the full Gospel of the day, please visit: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040923.cfm

Matthew 28:8
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb,
fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce the news to his disciples.

Reflection
Welcome to our reflection on today's Gospel on this Easter Monday. In reading this gospel I was reminded of a moment, several months back, when I got an early morning phone call from a friend. And it was early enough that when the phone rang and the call came in I was a little bit nervous, curious, what was going to be going on when I answered the phone to hear what was happening. 

And when I answered the phone and I heard my friend’s voice, the first moment that she spoke I could tell that her voice was full of both joy and tears. And she said to me, “Becky Becky, I understand something new today.” 

And I asked my friend, “Well, what is it? What is it that has you this morning so full of both joy and tears? And what she said is, “I realize it all matters to Jesus.” 

Now what my friend was referring to was that she had had a hard season of life years ago, and she was also in the throes of a hard season of life. And what God had brought her to that morning in prayer was the realization that everything that she had gone through, and was going through in that moment, mattered to Jesus. 

My friend that morning reminded me of Mary Magdalene in today's Gospel. Where Mary Magdalene and the other Mary come to the tomb in their grief; coming to acknowledge the real of what had happened to their friend. And they are unexpectedly met by the Angels, and then also by the Risen Christ. 

Mary Magdalene is truly the Apostle to the Apostles. She is an apostle to each one of us because of what her model shows us. First, Mary Magdalene had the courage to name the real and acknowledge the real of her life. She went to the tomb and tended to her sadness, knowing that her friend Jesus was not there. And there in the real that she was acknowledging she is met by the Risen Christ in the present moment. And she is invited to look around and pay attention for the signs of New Life. The Angels; the empty tomb; Jesus himself. 

And then here in this moment—acknowledging the empty, yet full tomb—feeling both fearful and yet overjoyed, Mary Magdalene is sent forth. And Jesus tells her, “Do not be afraid.” He tells her who to move towards in this new season of life and what to say. He says, “Go and tell your brothers.” 

And I don't know about you, but I'm sure glad that she did because of her witness and all of the Apostles’ witness after her that we have the Risen Christ to believe in. 

So, I invite you to look at your own life and to be like Mary Magdalene and have the courage to bring the real to Jesus's attention, as my friend did that morning on the phone. As Mary Magdalene did. I invite you to look around and look with Jesus and notice signs of new life that are happening before us. Before you. 

And then listen for how Jesus is giving you your next steps forward to embrace the new life, even if you feel fearful, and yet overjoyed, that Jesus too will tell you—as he did Mary Magdalene—who to move towards, and what good news to share with them.

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from John 20:1-9

To read the full Gospel of the day, please visit: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040923.cfm​

Reflection by Dr. Allen Hunt

Easter is the main event. If you don't believe in the resurrection, then you're not a believer. A character in a novel says those words, and he's right. We are the people of the Resurrection. We are the people of the empty tomb.

In fact, Jesus wasn't much into funerals, caskets, and tombstones at all. Jesus did resurrections, not burials. So much so, that Easter defines who we are. We believe that Jesus actually, literally, physically, rose from the dead. He transformed death into life. Better yet, we believe he will do that for us too, and that conviction changes everything. It changes the way we live every day because we really are Easter people.

Pope Francis said the resurrection offers us the greatest hope because it opens our lives, and the life of the world, to God's eternal future; to complete happiness; to the certainty that evil, sin, and death can be conquered. This leads us to living our everyday lives more confidently; to facing each day, courageously, and with commitment. In other words, we are Easter people. We know that life conquers death; grace conquers sin; courage conquers cowardice; and faith conquers fear.

So let me ask you, do your beliefs in the resurrection affect the way you live your life? Is there an area of your life that needs resurrection or needs new life from Jesus? A relationship that needs fear to be erased and boldness to be infused? Or maybe an addiction that has destroyed a part of you or your life? Perhaps greed and materialism has snuck in and robbed you of your joy? Do you know your neighbors or have you shut them out? Or maybe something else?

Spend five minutes each day for three days—five minutes each day for three days—in prayer for that one, fearful area of your life. Enter the classroom of silence. Listen for how God speaks to you and how he desires to turn what appears to be dead into the living. Invite him to fill you with the courage and commitment Pope Francis points us toward.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor and he was a part of a group of Christians who stood up to Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. Bonhoeffer really helped create a resistance by organizing an underground church that refused to obey the Führer Hitler, and Bonhoeffer became well known for his deep convictions and courage in the face of the greatest suffering and persecution imaginable.

Eventually Bonhoeffer's leadership decisions attracted Hitler's attention and they landed Dietrich Bonhoeffer in prison. He was transferred a few times, and finally he arrived at the awful concentration camp known as Flossenbürg. But even there, Dietrich Bonhoeffer continued to inspire the men all around him. He led prayer, he taught from scripture, and he stood tall and bold against the moral evil of Hitler.

But on a Sunday morning, in April 1945, just as worship was ending Dietrich Bonhoeffer was praying. The guards walked in and they shouted, "Bonhoeffer, come with us." The other Christians there gasped and got ashen looks on their faces because they knew what was about to happen. They were about to lose their leader. They knew Bonhoeffer was being led outside to be hanged.

Death saturated the room, but Dietrich Bonhoeffer stood. He stood to follow the guards out to his death. And as he stepped out of the space with the other Christians, he spoke to his fellow prisoners, and he fearlessly said, "This isn't the end, for me, it's just the beginning."

"This isn't the end, for me, it's just the beginning."

Easter is the main event. We are the people of the empty tomb. We are a people of hope. Death is not the end, for us, it's the beginning.

Why? Because we are Easter people.

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We are called to go forth.

Fr. J. Michael Sparough, SJ inspires with his portrayal of Jesus and all the other characters of St. John’s account of the Passion and Resurrection. Fr. Jim Willig shares his reflections on this scripture in light of his own cross – living with Stage 4 cancer.

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Jesus rises from the dead.

Fr. J. Michael Sparough, SJ inspires with his portrayal of Jesus and all the other characters of St. John’s account of the Passion and Resurrection. Fr. Jim Willig shares his reflections on this scripture in light of his own cross – living with Stage 4 cancer.

Support Heart to Heart with a monetary donation: https://htoh.us/donate

Buy the DVD: https://htoh.us/shop/author/fr-jim-willig/the-passion-and-resurrection-of-our-lord-jesus-christ/

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The Passion of Jesus Christ: Jesus is buried.

Fr. J. Michael Sparough, SJ inspires with his portrayal of Jesus and all the other characters of St. John’s account of the Passion and Resurrection. Fr. Jim Willig shares his reflections on this scripture in light of his own cross – living with Stage 4 cancer.

Support Heart to Heart with a monetary donation: https://htoh.us/donate

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The Passion of Jesus Christ: Jesus is crucified.

Fr. J. Michael Sparough, SJ inspires with his portrayal of Jesus and all the other characters of St. John’s account of the Passion and Resurrection. Fr. Jim Willig shares his reflections on this scripture in light of his own cross – living with Stage 4 cancer.

Support Heart to Heart with a monetary donation: https://htoh.us/donate

Buy the DVD: https://htoh.us/shop/author/fr-jim-willig/the-passion-and-resurrection-of-our-lord-jesus-christ/

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The Passion of Jesus Christ: Pilate condemns Jesus to death.

Fr. J. Michael Sparough, SJ inspires with his portrayal of Jesus and all the other characters of St. John’s account of the Passion and Resurrection. Fr. Jim Willig shares his reflections on this scripture in light of his own cross – living with Stage 4 cancer.

Support Heart to Heart with a monetary donation: https://htoh.us/donate

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The Passion of Jesus Christ: Peter denies Jesus 3 times.

Fr. J. Michael Sparough, SJ inspires with his portrayal of Jesus and all the other characters of St. John’s account of the Passion and Resurrection. Fr. Jim Willig shares his reflections on this scripture in light of his own cross – living with Stage 4 cancer.

Support Heart to Heart with a monetary donation: https://htoh.us/donate

Buy the DVD: https://htoh.us/shop/author/fr-jim-willig/the-passion-and-resurrection-of-our-lord-jesus-christ/

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