Readings: Acts of the Apostles 10, 34-43; Psalm 118, This is the The Day the Lord has made, let us & Rejoice and be Glad; Corinthians 5, 6-8; John 20, 1-9.
Acts observations—(Author, Date, Place, Subject)
Author: This is Luke, the physician, the companion of Paul, the Gentile writing for Gentile Christians, and the same Luke who wrote the Gospel of Luke.
Date: Around 65 years after Christ. Probably just before the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple (70 C.E., a big date in Jewish history), or Luke would have probably mentioned it.
Place: probably Ephesus, today a ruin on the west coast of Turkey south of Constantinople. Once this town was a major Christian center.
Subject: the material works like in concentric, expanding circles, beginning in Jerusalem and ending in Rome after touching Judea, Syria, Ephesus, & Europe. It treats activities in the early Christian community, some of which may describe the way they wished things were.
Sources: Good News Bible, New Interpreter’s Study Bible, St. Louis U. Jesuits’ Liturgical web
Easter Life All Around Us
I had an Easter Event happen to me recently. The event took place on a bus. Bus number 64. An ordinary bus and not an ordinary bus. It is a Parisian bus that runs from the Eiffel Tower on the west and what is called the left bank, through the historic center of Paris, for example the Louvre & Notre Dame, over the river Seine to the right bank, to a beautiful park near the former location of the Bastille on the east side.
I am on this bus at about 6:00 P.M., rush hour. I have caught the bus going in the direction of the Eiffel Tower, where Rosemary, Mary Ellen & I have a small hotel. I caught the bus just after it crossed the Seine. The bus is pretty full and I am able to get into my favorite nook, a place I can stand next to the window on the left side, half way down the bus, across from the exit.
Three events occur on this bus that make it an Easter event for me.
First, we are moving in heavy traffic on a four lane street, one way street which will divide into two right & two left. The bus is going right & is in the middle lane. On the left side of the bus is a black Mercedes. He is in the middle lane going left, but wants to go right like we are. The bus is in the way. The driver knows he is there & what he wants to do.
What do you think he did? To heighten the drama, the Mercedes has a German license plate. Remember, France was defeated and occupied by Germans in WW II.
I am watching all this.
What the bus driver did was stop and let the German Mercedes go in front of him. I was rather stunned.
Next, secondly, a white woman in her 40’s gets on and works her way down the aisle which is full mostly of men & young people. Ahead of me and on the opposite side of the bus are 4 seats facing the aisle, each with a man seated.
After a couple of moments the youngest, a guy about 19-22 gets up and offers the lady his seat. He is self conscious. He is Arab or North African. The lady declines and he returns to his seat.
Again I am moved by the simple goodness of a person.
So what do I do? This is the third thing. I want to go over and hug this kid. I’m thinking I should say something. I start memorizing 2-3 sentences in French. The bus is filling so that the aisle is packed between us. I am beginning to have doubt. These French speakers will think I am a stupid American trying to use French.
Suddenly I notice I have missed my stop. I have to reach through the crowd. I press the button. I know I have a three block wait, so I plunge into the crowd, get to the kid, and tell him he did something good. I am happy with him. Everyone looks up and the kid smiles, sheepishly.
I jump off the bus. I feel exultant.
There are Easter events & Easter people all around us, folks. It is like our Great Easter Egg Hunt. What is your Easter event?
Picture 1: Easter Mass Beginning
Picture 2: One Family Offertory, Christine, her daughter, Megan, grandmother Diane, & Chris's sister D'Arcy
Picture 3: Kids' Korner
Picture 4: Believe it or not, the Quads
Picture 5: The Great Easter Egg Hunt
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