May 9, 2020 7:43 pm

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Emerging from the lockdown CAN be a symbol of Easter. It CAN be if you liken our emergence from home to that of Jesus coming forth from the tomb.
His resurrected appearance, each year, is SUPPOSED to symbolize OUR victory over the deathly forces that we harbor in thought or perform in deed.
We go through life oblivious to how we wash our hands of issues that we should address. We nail people to some sort of cross in what we say, how we vote, and what we consume. We don’t consciously choose to be agents of death—which is why we have Lent each year, mass each day, and prayer all the time. We HAVE to examine our behaviors because it’s so easy to be part of the problem instead of the solution.
Rather than sound overly-preachy on this theme, here’s how you and I might often experience the process of what I’m describing.
In looking back over any particular period in life, if we sincerely look at our words and deeds, we can bring to mind interactions for which we cringe or groan or say “I wish I had THAT to do over again.” Or “I hope he/she doesn’t always hold THAT against me.”
The human condition is such that we are simply not gods. We make mistakes—and Lent is SUPPOSED to be a time when we can look back over a year—and look into the future—and TRY to work on where we’ve missed the mark.
Lent is SUPPOSED to put us in touch with how we are living as children of the gospel. Do we reach out to others in different ways, or do we just sort of think of #1 (me)? Jesus cared about, and tried to help, EVERYONE (not just his family, his friends, his town, his people). His life was one of reaching out—an example for us to follow (in whatever way we can). He knew there’s a human instinct to withdraw into ourselves or just be clannish.
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