Due to a layout error last week, we printed the Sunday’s Scriptures column for the Second Sunday of Easter, April 15. This week, we present, out of sequence, Father Cush’s reflections on the readings for Easter Sunday.

One of the greatest experiences that I have ever had in my life was the chance to study for the priesthood in Rome. During Holy Week 1994, I was called into the Chancery Office by Msgr. Otto Garcia, the Vicar General at the time. He asked me, on behalf of Bishop Thomas V. Daily, if I would be interested in completing my priestly formation at the North American College. I had already been accepted into the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception, Huntington, and this development came rather unexpectedly to me. When asked, I did not know what to say. I had gone home and spoke to my parents, my pastor, Father John Savage and my spiritual director, Father Bob Lauder. After prayer and discernment, I said yes and am grateful that I did.

While a seminarian in Rome, I studied at the Gregorian University, the oldest Jesuit university in the world. Unlike many of my contemporaries, I loved “the Greg” and the rigorous studies in theology. The classes that I had taken at the Gregorian changed my perceptions of the gracious mystery that is God and the mysteries that make up the Church. One class in particular I look back fondly on to this day was Ecclesiology (the theological study of the nature and mission of the Church). It was taught by Padre Angel Anton, a Spanish Jesuit. Having now taught Ecclesiology many times for the Pastoral Institute and the Diaconate Formation Program, I realize my debt to Padre Anton. Most of my notes still come from his!

One of the main points that Padre Anton continually brought up to his students is clearly reflected in the epistle of Easter, which the Church takes from St. Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. Father Anton would remind us that the Kingdom of God is the central message that Jesus came to bring. It is the central message that Jesus Himself personifies.

Make It Happen Now

This Kingdom of God is “gia, ma non ancora,” “already, but not yet.” Like a train in the distance, we know it is there, but don’t fully realize the arrival. The Kingdom of God is not of this world, but it is slowly in-breaking. It is our task to live lives that would help the Lord to make manifest the Kingdom beginning now. St. Paul reminds the Colossians to “(B)e intent on things above rather than the things of the Earth.” What he is asking us is to keep our eyes focused on the Kingdom of God.

When we look at the Scriptures, one of the phrases which we encounter time and again is the Kingdom of God. Yet surprisingly, nowhere in the Bible do we have a clear definition of the Kingdom. Jesus only speaks of the Kingdom in similes, like that of “a pearl of great price” or “a woman furiously sweeping.” The only place that we kind of get a definition of the Kingdom is in Paul’s Letter to the Romans. The definition, however, is a negative definition. By explaining what the Kingdom isn’t, we come to a fuller understanding of what it is. Paul states that the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating or drinking (the things of this world), but that of peace, justice and joy (the things of the world to come).

Not of This World

Paul follows up on this thought with today’s epistle. On this Easter Sunday, we’re reminded to keep our eyes focused on what truly matters – the things of the world to come. On this day of the Resurrection, we’re reminded to get our priorities straight, to remember that we’re in the world, yet not of the world.

The Resurrection of Jesus from the dead changes everything. Sin and death are forever conquered. The world brims forth with joy and basks in the new light and new life who is Christ. But what practical effects does this have in our lives? How can we be people of the Resurrection? Paul makes us realize that we’re guests at best on this journey of life. The world as we know it is passing away. Fame, fortune, all material things, as great as they are, as necessary as they might be to live, aren’t as important as what truly matters.

Only Essentials Matter

Being a person of the Resurrection means realizing that, in the long run, only the essentials of our lives truly matter. As an Easter person, do we take the time to say “thank you” to those who do good for us? Do we seize the opportunity to say “I love you” to our families? Do we take the time to pray, honestly pray, to recognize that God and God alone is the source and sustainer of our lives?
Where do our hearts lie? In the Kingdom of God or in the Kingdom of this world? Being a person of the Resurrection should awaken us to this choice on this Easter Sunday.

Readings for Easter Sunday:

Acts 10:34, 37-43
Ps. 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23
Col. 3:1-4
Jn. 20:1-9

Father Cush is on the faculty of Cathedral Preparatory Seminary, Elmhurst.