A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 9, n. 22)
Easter Sunday, Year A – April 24, 2011 *
“Alleluia! The Living Seeds Grow!”
BIBLE READINGS
Acts 10:34a, 37-43 // Col 3:1-4 or I Cor 5:6b-8 // Jn 20:1-9
(N.B. Series 9 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year A from the perspective of the Second Reading. For reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year C based on the Gospel reading, please scroll up to the “ARCHIVES” above and open Series 3. For reflections based on the Old Testament reading, open Series 6.)
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
Alleluia! Jesus Christ is risen! Glory and kingship be his forever and ever! The resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for our salvation, is the central mystery of our faith and the cause of rejoicing. Easter celebrates the victory of the Risen Lord over the power of sin and death. Indeed, the meaning of our life depends not on the empty tomb but on the glorious event of the Lord’s rising (cf. Jn 20:1-9).
Harold Buetow remarks: “When we say or sing, Jesus Christ is risen today we do not mean only Jesus Christ was risen once upon a time. We mean that the risen Christ is all around us, in the eyes and faces of those sitting beside us, in the bread and wine of the altar, in the newly baptized, and in the people we meet all the time. He walks the earth today – teaching, healing, touching, suffering, dying and rising. If we go seeking the risen Jesus with faith and hope and love we will find him. Seek him, find him, and love him in every person by serving their needs. Then truly not only is Christ risen, but we too are already living a risen life by his power and grace.”
Easter is the feast when the efficacy of the Paschal Mystery of our Lord Jesus Christ impinges on the Church most intensely and touches us most deeply. The Church is born from the Easter experience and by the witnessing of Christian disciples – “those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead” (cf. Acts 10:34a, 37-43). From the Easter aftermath, the Church experienced a tremendous apostolic energy that propelled them to preach the Gospel to all nations, to all cultures and to all creation. And so we thank the Lord that the living “seeds” of faith continue to be sown through time and space by his disciples. We rejoice that by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Easter gift, the “living seeds” of faith, hope and love grow and flourish in the hearts of Christian believers.
In order that the Good News of the Lord’ resurrection may be proclaimed efficaciously to the nations, we ought to allow the grace of Easter to transform us from within. The Easter experience of being “raised with Christ” gives us an entirely new perspective and focus. As a community of those reborn in baptism, we “think of what is above, not of what is on earth” (cf. Col 3:1-4). Indeed, as an Easter people, we celebrate the saving event of Christ’s paschal mystery with festal joy and with the “unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (cf. I Cor 5:6b-8).
The liturgical scholar Adrian Nocent comments on the Colossians text: “For the baptized Christian, the resurrection of Christ is not merely a historical event; it affects him personally, and its reality and the demands it makes on him are felt each day of his life … The letter to the Colossians, however, makes it clear that we live here and now with the risen Jesus and that our lives must be the lives of men who are risen with Christ. (…) The Christian must live according to what he really is; this means that his life is under the sign of hope. Only in faith does he understand that his personal renewal is something already real.”
Fr. Nocent likewise explains the alternative Second Reading from the first letter to the Corinthians: “This reading makes the point that the feast of Easter is not a celebration limited to externals, but that, on the contrary, there is only one way of properly celebrating it: to put away all corruption and wickedness. These are the old yeast and we must get rid of them so that we may celebrate with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. We ourselves must be like Passover bread that is unleavened. We must be the new dough.”
The Easter experience continues to cast its glow in today’s world. The Texan Gregory Hill, an illustrious member of the Knights of Columbus and a veteran of the drilling industry, coordinated the rescue of the 33 trapped miners in Chile last year. In his life is a beautiful example of how the “seeds” of faith, hope and love can flourish and mature. Through him as God’s docile instrument, the “miraculous” rescue of the miners was accomplished and their “resurrection” from the tomb of death occurred. In the following story, we plumb the depths of faith and perceive the sterling qualities of an “Easter people” (cf. Shari Biediger, “The Depths of Faith” in COLUMBIA, December 2010, p. 14-15).
In the days following the Aug. 5 collapse of northern Chile’s San Jose copper and gold mine, rescuers and the families of the 33 missing miners tried not to lose hope. Yet, they knew that no human being, if he even survived the collapse, could survive very long without food and water. Then, on day 17, rescuers found a rudimentary note secured by tape to the tip of an exploratory drill bit, revealing that all 33 miners were indeed alive. Following the discovery, Greg Hall’s engineering support team packed up and returned to their factory in northern Chile. “We thought the job was done. We thought they may be able to find a duct to get them out”, recalled Hall, a 25-year veteran of the drilling industry and owner of the Chilean-based manufacturing and consulting firm Drillers Supply S.A.
Yet, it became apparent over the following week that all paths to the mine were blocked. Hall, a member of Anton Frank Council 8771, began working from his office in Houston on a plan to continue the rescue. “I knew of only two drill rigs in the entire country that were minimally large enough to do the job”, Hall explained, adding that the power and vibration of such a large drill would present significant risks to the men trapped 2,300 feet below ground. I was concerned about causing another landslide like the one the miners got trapped by in the first place”, he said.
Then, a phone call from an acquaintance put him in touch with representatives from Center Rock, a manufacturing company in Pennsylvania. They believed their specialized down-the-hole drilling hammers could do the job, but could not get the attention of anyone in Chile.
Collaborating with Center Rock and several other companies, Hall then put together the best team he could find. What became known as “Plan B” was soon accepted and initiated, thanks to the reputation of Hall’s business and his government relationships in Chile. “We realized quickly that this would be a very high-profile, high-pressure job”, Hall said. “We were not drilling for gold; we were drilling for people.” Knowing that the job would be technically, emotionally and politically complex, Hall challenged the engineers on his team by asking, “What could you put up with if you were drilling to get your son out?”
From the start, Halls assessment of the job’s difficulty proved correct. The depth, the unstable ground, the hardness of the rock, and the twists and turns of the borehole all combined to make the operation appear impossible to every drilling expert. “If I was to sit back and think about the entire scope of the operation, I would have just said, ‘Forget it’”, added Hall. Instead, the team concentrated on drilling one meter at a time. And as the days went on, it became more apparent that the operation was guided by divine providence. Hall was moved by the deep faith of the miners and how the men requested religious items such as rosaries and Bibles.
On two separate occasions when the drill became hopelessly struck and would not move, Hall began to pray. “I prayed that God would send the angels to free the hammer bit”, he said. “And in both cases, we got some wiggle room, and we were able to continue the process. That was another miracle.”
Hall, who is preparing to be ordained a permanent deacon next year, was also struck by the biblical significance of the number 33. The age of Jesus when he was crucified, buried and rose again, happened to correspond to the number of miners, the number of days of drilling, and even the number of years that the miners’ spiritual adviser, who was trapped with them, had worked in mining. The most powerful source of spiritual comfort for Hall, however, was recognizing that the same God present throughout salvation history was now with them in the Chilean desert. Ultimately, Hall believes God drilled the hole that freed the miners and that he merely “had a good seat” for the effort.
Hall and his team left the site just before the miners were freed, because they wanted to give the miners and their families space to reconnect and celebrate. Instead, they watched the final rescue on TV from their homes and hotel rooms as the miners emerged from the hole one by one. And though they did not relax until the last man emerged on Oct. 13, Hall said that seeing the first man rescued, Florencio Avalos, was particularly meaningful. “He was the one we had the most contact with when they were in the hole”, said Hall. “He was always asking us, ‘When are you going to get me out?’”
The experience made Hall all the more grateful for the life he shares with his wife Angelica, and their children, ages 26, 21 and 18. “He is an amazing father and a great man and kind of like superhero to me”, said Greg Hall Jr. “And I say that with all due respect because I tell him, ‘You own three companies, you are becoming a deacon and you saved the lives of 33 people. You need to leave something for me to do!” Earlier this year, when Greg Hall Jr. asked his father how he could give himself in service to others, Hall’s encouragement prompted his son to join the Knights of Columbus.
The senior Hall also volunteers his time with a prison ministry and tells inmates that, no matter what they had done in the past God can work miracles through them. Most miracles, he said, are simply not as public as the Chilean rescue. “Miracles happen all the time”, Hall said. “But for some reason, God chose to have this miracle televised all over the world.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
Are we true witnesses of Christ’s resurrection?
Do we focus on the “empty tomb” or on the saving event of the Lord’s rising?
Do we seek what is above, where Christ is? Do we celebrate the victory of the paschal lamb with the “unleavened bread of sincerity and truth”?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: Loving God,
we thank you for the Easter event
and its renewing effect in us.
We have died with Christ
and been raised to life with him.
Teach us to set our hearts on the things that are in heaven.
Give us the wisdom
to get rid of the “old yeast” of malice and weakness.
The “old yeast” has no place in our hearts
for we are now an Easter people
called to celebrate with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Make us zealous witnesses
of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Strengthen us with the Holy Spirit, the Easter gift.
Let the “living seeds” of faith, hope and love flourish in our hearts.
In our Gospel mission to the world,
may we offer to all peoples and nations
the spiritual fruits of Christ’s paschal sacrifice.
To you, loving Father and wondrous God,
we offer our love and praise
and to the entire creation,
we let our glad “Alleluias” resound.
We adore and serve you, the font of Easter joy,
and we glorify you,
now and forever.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” (cf. Col 3:1)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Pray that people deeply troubled with various concerns may experience the Easter joy. Through your acts of charity on their behalf, let them experience the healing power of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ.
ACTION PLAN: That we may delve deeply into the mystery of the Risen Lord and express our gratitude that the “living seeds” do grow and flourish, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year A, vol. 7, # 22).
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US