What if you were in your early 30s and had a heartfelt desire to walk for miles with good news to spread, but you had only meager sandals as opposed to great sneakers? What if the roads were not paved and motorized vehicles were not invented yet?
What if you wanted to share truths about a loving Father, and caution people, regardless of their nationality or birthright, about bad things to avoid and practices to overcome, but you did not have newspapers, pamphlets, or flyers to distribute?
What if you could heal the sick and restore others’ abilities to walk and see, but you were abused, ignored’ and challenged at every turn?
What if you gave great instructions and teachings, but you had no microphone or megaphone to aid in transmission; you relied on your close friends and followers to spread the word? No internet was around, no TV, no radio.
What if, in your ministry, as you walked from town to town, area to area, there were no fast-food restaurants or even “mom-and-pop” stores to help nourish you? No handheld coolers were out there to keep your food fresh in hot weather.
What if you knew bad things were about to occur, and you asked some friends to be with you, and they fell asleep? Didn’t they sense you were upset?
What if you were unjustly accused of a crime but did not have a lawyer or brave friends to back you up or rescue you?
What if you were beaten and spat upon in front of your mother and friends, and nothing could be done to help you? What if soldiers even wagered for your clothing?
What if you were mocked and ridiculed, and crucified mercilessly, the suffering going on for hours before you died. No one demonstrated or carried signs of protest.
But what if that was not the end of the story? The Father raised you from the dead on the third day! No airplane could carry a news banner across the sky. Gradually, you came to your followers. You ate with them. You talked with them. You instructed them—not through email or texting, but in resurrected person. And after 40 days, you ascended, but not before promising to send your Holy Spirit!
What if we pray to that loving Creator God and Holy Teacher-Redeemer, and invigorating Holy Spirit, and we gratefully surrender our lives to that Trinity? What if we are gleefully prepared and ready to celebrate Pentecost in less than two weeks?
Why wait until the last minute? In this Easter season, we have so much about which to rejoice! We can find prayers of joy on the internet. We can spread the word of God’s love on our cellphones! We can drive to an extra weekday Mass!
In 2024, what if we gratefully showed the Lord we believe his truths about love and sacrifice? What if it were contagious?
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Photograph: Detail of stained-glass window created by Louis Comfort Tiffany in Arlington Street Church (Boston) depicting the Sermon on the Mount. March 2009 photo by John Stephen Dwyer. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Attribution: Boston at English Wikipedia & John Stephen Dwyer
Sharon Krause is a RENEW volunteer whose writing has appeared in several resources for small-group faith sharing. She is a wife, mother, and grandmother residing in Royal Palm Beach, Florida. Over the years, she has served in many parish ministries.
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