Saturday in the Octave of Easter
A few weeks ago, we hosted my sister’s family for a long weekend. Her three-year-old twins have changed so much since the last time we saw them, and I quickly remembered one of the most annoying (and hilarious) parts of this phase with my own children.
“Leo, where are your shoes?” I asked looking around the foyer before our walk.
“Oh, I don’t know. I have no idea, Aunt Meggie!” he replied after a quick glance around, obviously (and intentionally) looking past his shoes by the door.
“Issa, did you bring a coat?” I asked.
“Oh no, we forgot it at home,” she replied, only to be corrected quickly by her dad who grabbed the coat from the car.
So quickly, they stated what they wanted to be true, even if it was at odds with our shared reality. In that stage of development, what they want to be true is often perceived as what’s true and believed, rather than the reality of what’s in front of them.
It’s similar for the disciples in today’s Gospel. In Mark 16 we hear:
“When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe, “ and “They returned and told the others; but they did not believe them either.”
The disciples were so hesitant to believe those who had seen; it didn’t match their lived experience. Rising from the dead seemed impossible and hard to grasp, bringing so many questions they couldn’t answer and a reality that didn’t match their lived experience. Their minds just couldn’t compute it.
In the beginning of this Easter season, how is your belief? Where are the opportunities in your life to stretch your ability to believe without seeing, to trust in the mystery of our spiritual lives and to look objectively at the reality around you? Where could you do well to truly listen and believe the truth others share with you?
—Meghann Naveau