The Rising Son

Preparing for the entrance exam for heaven

03/31/2024

Mark 16:1-7 When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him. Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back; it was very large. On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.’”

Have you heard the story about Forrest Gump going to heaven and meeting St. Peter at the Pearly Gates? St. Peter informs him that heaven is filling up fast and so he is administering an entrance exam to ensure people are ready for Paradise. Peter says: “I will ask you three questions. First, what are the days of the week that begin with the letter ‘T’?” Forrest thought a moment and answered; “Oh, that’s easy, those days are Today and Tomorrow.” Peter replies, “Well, that’s not exactly what I was expecting but close enough.”

Peter continues: “Okay, the second question is how many seconds in a year?” Forrest furrows his eyebrows in thought, smiles and says: “Shucks, that’s twelve: January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd, and so forth!” Again Peter is surprised but lets the answer slide. He continues: “Okay, the third question: what is God’s first name?” Again, Forrest puts on his thinking cap, and then answers: “God’s first name is Howard.” Peter asks, “What makes you say that?” Forrest replies: “We say it every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father, who art in heaven, Howard be thy name…”

In the gospel today, we see the real exam we have to take to enter heaven, namely, a test of faith, faith in the resurrection of Jesus. Three women are the first to be put to the test, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. Girls are always the smartest in the class. But instead of St. Peter, it’s an angel disguised as a young man who administers the test. The angelic young man announces that Jesus has been raised from the dead and the three women are invited to believe without seeing. Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene later but not the other two.

In a sense, what the young man was asking was a lot harder than the questions St. Peter put to Forrest Gump. Why? Well, because the answer would require a complete change of life. If Jesus has risen from the dead, everything has changed. How so? Because death is no longer the end of life but really the beginning. You know, we hear about the resurrection so much it no longer astounds us. We hear it too much and we contemplate it too little.

But the news of the resurrection blew the minds of the early Christians. Like the three women at the tomb, they were asked to believe without seeing. That is, Jesus only appeared to his apostles and a little more than “five hundred brethren at one time,” as Paul recounts in 1 Co 15:6. Now, if I had been Jesus I would have gone first to the house of Annas and Caiaphas and then to Pontius Pilate and to all the Jews, and said, “How do you like me now?” But he didn’t. In other words, Jesus wanted his followers to believe without seeing, which is what faith is. The early Christians passed that test, not only living for Jesus but dying for him.

Now, I want to share with you some news almost as exciting as the resurrection. We are going to launch a capital campaign to mark our 125th anniversary in this marvelous church, dedicated in 1899. One way we will do that is by building a new back altar (where the priest’s presently sit) and move the Blessed Sacrament to that new altar. Why? Well, that was the traditional place for the Blessed Sacrament, so Jesus would be the focus of faith for everyone who steps foot in this church.

But even more, traditional churches like I.C. were always built so the people were facing East. Again, why? Well, because of the small but significant detail in today’s gospel that says: “Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb.” In other words, the rising sun (s-u-n) was seen as a symbol of the rising Son (S-o-n), namely, Jesus. And when the tabernacle with Jesus is sitting due east, the symbolism is suddenly unmistakable and evokes a response of faith.

Some people don’t like sitting in the front pews because the light through the stained glass is bright. They say, “The sun is too bright, I can’t see!” I answer: “No, now you can finally see.” C. S. Lewis put it perfectly: “I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen, not only because I see it but because by it I see everything else.” That is, faith in Jesus’ resurrection allows us to see everything else in a new light, the light of faith.

You will find in the pews some trifold brochures with the campaign details. Would you open it and look at the far right page? There, you will find the projects of this campaign. You will see that some projects touch the church, other projects affect the school, still others benefit the preschool, a few projects helps enhance the rectory, like the enlarged, fenced backyard – I’ll give you one guess who that’s for. And lastly, we will install solar panels for electricity for the entire campus. The total cost will be $3 million. We have about 2000 families in our parish, so if each family can pledge $1,500 over three years, we can reach our goal. Please take the brochure home to review later.

Msgr. O’Donnell, our former pastor, said, “We stand on the shoulders of giants.” Those giants built this church like a classroom of faith to help us prepare for the entrance exam for heaven. Every detail in this church is designed to evoke faith, even the direction you are all seated, facing the East, which is where the word “Easter” comes from. We are an Easter people because every time we come to church we face East, to behold the rising Son, the resurrected Christ. The East, the sun, everything is designed to help us believe without seeing, and pass the test of faith.

Praised be Jesus Christ!