Easter Sunday: Resurrection as Encounter

BY MAUREEN O’CONNELL | April 16, 2017
Easter Sunday
Today’s Readings

No matter which of today’s Gospel readings you proclaim, a refrain echoes: the Resurrection is an encounter. In these pivotal passages of the Jesus story, the evangelists are certain to craft for us the Resurrection as a full-body, total immersion experience of encounter: an encounter with the astounding possibility of “a way out of no way,” which Mary Magdalene and Peter must have experienced upon arriving at that empty tomb; an encounter with Jesus’ nourishing presence among us even as we recall in hushed tones our disappointments, our confusion, our futile “now what?” along the way to Emmaus; a fearful and yet joyful encounter with the dazzling message that our journey with the Lord can begin again if we hurry back to the Galilee places of our hearts, our relationships, our communities, our ministries where he is waiting for us with the Spirit.

Photo by Jeremy Zipple, S.J.

The Resurrection encounter breaks us free from the confines of that upper room where we’ve been hiding with our fear, and guilt, and grief with invitations to move our bodies and spirits with joy, and hope, and astonishment:

Run as fast as you can!
Come, see, and believe!
Do not be afraid!
Announce!
Go to Galilee!
Invite him to stay!
Recount the story, again and again.

Reflection questions:

• Where in your body are you experiencing the Resurrection encounter today?
• Where are the Galilee spaces you need to hurry back to in order to encounter the risen Jesus and begin again??
• Who is with you on your Emmaus road and how can you prepare yourselves to encounter the Resurrected one in the coming days?

Maureen O'Connell, Ph.D.

Maureen H. O’Connell is Associate Professor of Christian Ethics in the Department of Religion and Theology at La Salle University. She recently published Undoing the Knots: Five Generations of American Catholic Anti-Blackness with Beacon Press.

Maureen H. O’Connell es profesora asociada de ética cristiana en el departamento de religión y teología de la Universidad La Salle. Recientemente publicó Undoing the Knots: Five Generations of American Catholic Anti-Blackness con Beacon Press.