There’s something exciting about newness, isn’t there? I just had a major life change and have been transitioning into a new job and life situation. It’s exciting. I could have just sat around but then I wouldn’t have been able to have new experiences. And isn’t life about experience? Weren’t we given senses to engage them? To experience the world? The truth is, all of us have the free choice to be active in whatever way we choose. But many of us don’t fully take advantage of it. We either get lazy or get into a mindless routine. As Barney said to Ted in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother:
Barney: Ted, you keep going to the same bar. You’re in a rut.
Ted: It’s not a rut. It’s a routine, and I like it.
Barney: Ted, what’s the first syllable in rut-tine?
But we are an Easter people! That means that we’re constantly called to new life. For some that means life changes. For others it means small changes, positive additions to our lives, or purging. The Church gives us opportunities for continuous conversion and newness through the sacraments like confession or the Eucharist. We have times like Lent for purging things out of our lives that are weighing us down. In our secular lives we can join a gym for regular exercise, we can catch up on letter writing, or take a holiday. We can be active—we can activate ourselves to bring some refreshed energy to our lives. And it feels good, too.
See, after Jesus died on Good Friday, the disciples spent the weekend sad, feeling lost, possibly tired and languid. They locked themselves inside and became quite inactive. But on Easter morning Mary Magdalene went to the tomb where an angel told her, “Go quickly now, and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from death…'” (Matt 28:7, GNT). Activate! Go quickly, and activate the others with the wonderful news! At the end of Mass Catholics are told to go and share the Good News, just like Mary Magdalene. Imagine the change in the disciples’ faces and spirits when they realised what had happen. At first “they were mourning and crying,” scripture says. (Mark 16:10b, GNT) They didn’t believe her until they saw the empty tomb for themselves. No doubt they were activated into a newness that moved them to continue Jesus’ mission.
What will it take to activate you this Easter? Like the disciples who were set into action by the Spirit, we too must take action and not be stagnant in our faith and life. Is it a life change? Is it committing to a cause or a relationship? Is it purging?
