Where did they put the Lord?

+  RWS 540 March 31, 2013

Easter Sunday

Gospel: John 20:1-9

2 … "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him."

The Lord in uncertainties

By Bishop Precioso D. Cantillas, SDB, DD

The first feeling of the first person to have encountered the greatest event in history—the Resurrection of Jesus—was unfortunately that of uncertainty. Mary Magdalene, of course, had no idea of the power of the Lord Jesus she so loved. Her senses could only attest to an absence, a loss, or an absurdity before the great reality of Presence, the victory and the great meaningfulness of the Risen Jesus.  Such experience of Mary Magdalene and the few of the Apostles and disciples on the first encounter of Easter find similarity in our day to day life and activities, including our daily work.

Most of us, even when we find our work at once meaningful and fulfilling especially in the material and temporal aspects of it, would feel the uncertainty as time goes on. We worry about the stability of our jobs or of those who have hired our services; we also are uncertain of our physical or mental health needed to stay on our jobs. There are also the difficulties and pains of working which could overcome our determination at work and slowly feel the loss of meaning and value of our toils. Others are pressured by so many demands from the family and friends that working hard would be the easy means to earn the money to meet such demands; but, such motive for working will not last long, or one’s energy and strength would soon fail. Thus, in work, the sense of absence, loss and absurdity could truly be felt by the worker. He would then need something, or, better, someone, who could transform his daily work into an experience of true joy and satisfaction. The worker needs someone to liberate him from the grips of uncertainties in life not only of the present moment but also in the life after.

The Risen Jesus is the only one who can give him and all of us assurance and salvation from utter meaninglessness in life. The Risen Lord is present to every person who wills to accept Him in faith. He is present in His Church to assure us and to save us from all uncertainties. His resurrection should somehow find a place in our life and work.

Holidays and holy weeks

By Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS

Earlier on in my career, working in the pre-martial law Manila Times, I had to accept that Good Friday was regarded as an ordinary day. I could understand that hospitals, fire stations and the armed forces don’t stop operating on holidays or holy days because they deal with life-and-death situations, but a newspaper office?  Surely the world would spin on without newspapers for a day?  That question was not answered, and it got buried in deadlines 24/7.

I did not notice when the holy week turned into a holiday week, when parents stopped telling their children to be quiet on Good Friday because “patay ang Diyos,” and when workers began to convert the prayerful long weekend into beach outings and fun vacations.  Over two decades ago, an airline vice president at a board meeting—noting the increasingly heavy air traffic during Holy Week—quipped about the fun loving Filipinos: “Maybe they have a blast partying from Maundy Thursday through Black Saturday because they’re advancing their celebration of Easter Sunday.”  The trend towards fun-filled (or irreverent) holy weeks continued, despite the subtle warning from the sudden and mysterious death of a young actor on a Maundy Thursday 11 years ago.  More and more policemen are deployed each year during Holy Week in anticipation of crimes and accidents—for where crowds are boisterous and high, self-control is low.  The airline VP’s sardonic remark has turned out to be prophetic, but who wants to heed prophets these days?

Erasing the holy from the holy week may lead us to the empty tomb, but may doom us to the fate of never knowing where the Lord has gone.  Believing in propaganda more than in the truth of the resurrection we will continue to live in worse lies—because purveyors of lies work 24/7—failing to discern why, for instance, despite triumphant announcements of an economic boom, our poor continue to sleep in the streets, and in spite of peace pacts, war rages on.