A Silent World Awakens to Joyful News

The evangelists, writing about the events of Good Friday, tell us that darkness covered the land.  Imagine the silence that overcame the world on the day the savior died.  Before the silence struck, what did people hear on Calvary that Friday afternoon?  They heard Jesus exclaim his seven last phrases, one in which he forgave his transgressors, another in which he prayed Psalm 22- My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?  They would have heard his promise to the Good Thief of inheriting paradise that day.  And his final words, entrusting his spirit to the Father and announcing, “It is finished.”  Beneath the cross that day, Mary, Jesus’ Mother, and the other Marys who were there along with John the Beloved Disciple probably could be heard crying and consoling one another.  And the roman centurion’s proclamation that “Truly this was the Son of God” could be heard. 

Soon after his death, Jesus was taken down from the cross, and a secret disciple of his, Joseph of Arimathea, took his body and placed the savior’s body in his (Joseph's) own tomb.  Silence came over the world that day.  Silence amongst the disciples in the Upper Room as they tried to make sense of everything that happened. 

Our world today finds itself in silence.  Restaurants, stores, classrooms, and so many places we once enjoyed, that were filled with activity, now are silent.  On Holy Saturday, Jesus’ body remained in the tomb, but his work continued as he descended to the depths of the netherworld (something we profess in the Apostles' Creed) and brought them into the heavenly kingdom. 

The silence of the world was broken up when Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene after the Resurrection and she brings the news to the apostles, leading to a footrace between Peter and John, who confirm it to be true.  That news began to spread everywhere.  The silence of the world was no longer, because Jesus always has the final word. 

Right now it might feel a lot like Good Friday even though it is Easter weekend.  Darkness and sadness have overcome us during the Covid-19 quarantine.  There is a silence that has broken out.  But with an Easter faith, we believe, know, and must declare that God is more powerful than the coronavirus.  If Jesus defeated death on Easter Sunday and the world proclaimed, “He Lives,” then we must maintain that Jesus is more powerful than this virus.  As a world in darkness and silence, let us implore the Lord Jesus who healed so many and commanded the sea to obey, to bring healing now to those in need, and defeat the coronavirus.  Easter Sunday brings new life.  After this time of quarantine, we surely will have a new appreciation for the life God gave us, and will live it to the full. 

Fr. Edward Looney pastors the Catholic communities of Brussels and Lincoln/Rosiere.  He is the author of Our Lady of Good Help: A Prayer Book for Pilgrims.