Message of Abbot Paul - Easter Monday
Message from Fr Paul for Monday. 18th April 2022
It was a great joy to see so many worshippers at our Easter and Holy Week celebrations this year. It wasn’t unexpected, but it was a truly amazing experience after two years of much smaller congregations and social distancing. I pray that all those who came to Belmont, or participated in their homes by live streaming, were renewed by the grace of our Risen Saviour and strengthened in their faith to bear witness to Christ in their daily lives more forcefully and joyfully and with grater confidence. The Monday of Easter Week is known traditionally as the Monday of the Angel and at the offertory at Mass we sing that most wonderful Latin chant Angelus Domini. The Angel of the Lord descended from heaven and said to the women, ‘Who are you looking for? He is risen, just as he said he would.’ Alleluia. It’s one of my absolute favourites and one I enjoy singing alone in my room or in an empty church.
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Our Gospel today is taken from Matthew, (Mt 28: 8-15). It takes up the resurrection account from where the angel had told the women that Jesus had risen from the dead. “Filled with awe and great joy the women came quickly away from the tomb and ran to tell the disciples.” Filled with awe and great joy sums up the feelings and emotions of the women, whose first reaction is to run off and let the disciples know. Why were the women first in visiting the tomb? Because now that the Sabbath was over, they were eager to improve on the rushed job that had taken place on Friday evening of anointing the body of Jesus. However, not only were they to see the angel this morning, but the very person they had been looking for. Matthew continues. “And there, coming to meet them, was Jesus. ‘Greetings’ he said. And the women came up to him and, falling down before him, clasped his feet. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee; they will see me there.’” They recognise Jesus when he greets them and fall to their knees, clasping his feet in loving adoration. They were not afraid to show their profound affection for Jesus. The very fact that they can clasp his feet shows us that he was no spirit or vision, but the man Jesus himself, risen from the dead and restored to life. Yet that life would be very different as well as the same. As the women go off on their errand to tell the disciples to return to Galilee, the chief priests are up to no good, secretly paying off the Temple guard to give out false news of Jesus.
“While they were on their way, some of the guard went off into the city to tell the chief priests all that had happened. These held a meeting with the elders and, after some discussion, handed a considerable sum of money to the soldiers with these instructions, ‘This is what you must say, “His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.” And should the governor come to hear of this, we undertake to put things right with him ourselves and to see that you do not get into trouble.’ The soldiers took the money and carried out their instructions, and to this day that is the story among the Jews.” It would appear that news of the empty tomb is spreading like wildfire and has reached the ears of the Temple guard. The chief priests decide that something must be done about this and so they decide to pay off the guard to spread the rumour that it was his disciples who stole his body. They are also planning to dupe Pontius Pilate with a similar tale. How dangerous the truth is to those in authority! We see it with our own government, do we not, where lies and sleaze are the order of the day, not to mention Mr Putin and his lack of trust in his own people’s judgement, so needing to shield them from the truth. These are sad truths that are painful to acknowledge and accept. Lord, grant us all the gift of integrity and truth, but most of all to our world leaders and those in authority.
