Yesterday, because of the lilies in the sanctuary at our Church (and they were lovely), I had to sit as far from them as possible. So, I asked the ushers if I could sit in the back pew with them. As people entered for church, many walked past me where I was sitting. Suddenly, a woman in her 80s stopped, took my hand and patted it, and said, “Oh, I love an Easter bonnet.” I thanked her. Wished her a joyful Easter. As she walked on to her pew, I looked about and realized I was the only one with an Easter bonnet.
I’ve shared before that the reason I still wear a hat to church is that it reminds me, as I prepare to enter in for the sacred liturgy the need for my loving humility, to embrace the LORD’s unfathomable love knowing I am unworthy of such love yet open to it and its transformation. Anyone who sees me in my hat and thinks it arrogance are mistaken; but, then again, my hat and its purpose isn’t about others, it’s about my relationship with my LORD.
Yesterday, after Mass, I returned home and went to my closet. I took off my hat. But before I placed it in the box with the others, I thought about the woman and her words. Suddenly, the import of what she’d said hit me. Who am I that the Son of God should selflessly give His life upon a cross for me and for my life? And I thought of Mary Magdalene and Jesus’ commission of her to tell the others of His resurrection. Jesus is risen. Jesus lives. Will I bear this good news to the world all the days of my life? How?
I took a few minutes, in prayerful contemplation. I gave thanks all over again for the wonder of the LORD’s love and the power of love lived. I begged the LORD for the persistence of a true disciple. And I promised to proclaim the wonderful truth through my words and actions.
As I lifted the hat box back up onto the closet shelf, I must admit awe swept over me. “Oh, LORD,” I uttered, “You amaze me the way You use the simplest of things to reel me in. Thank you.”
Today is Monday in the Octave of Easter. How will each of us bring the good news of Easter forward with us in to this day and share it with others through word and deed? As disciples of the living LORD, we are called to do just that. Let us give prayerful thought to this commission. Let us be people of joy, loving others as our Savior loves us, touching others out of love for Him and for those He died to save. Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again.
Until tomorrow, let us all love well.
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