Easter Homily    March 27, 2005

 

It seems that a young aspirant to holiness once came to visit the hermitage of an old holy man who was sitting in the doorway of his quarters at sunset. The old man’s dog stretched out across the threshold as the young spiritual seeker presented his problem to the holy man. “Why is it, Abba, that some who seek God come to the desert and are zealous in prayer but leave after a year or so, while others, like you, remain faithful to the quest for a lifetime?”

 

The old man smiled and replied, “Let me tell you a story:

 

“One day I was sitting here quietly in the sun with my dog. Suddenly a large white rabbit ran across in front of us.  Well, my dog jumped up, barking loudly, and took off after that big rabbit.  He chased the rabbit over the hills with a passion.  Soon, other dogs joined him, attracted by his barking.  What a sign it was, as the pack of dogs ran barking across the creeks, up stony embankments and through thickets and thorns! Gradually, however, one by one, the other dogs dropped out of the pursuit, discouraged by the course and frustrated by the chase. Only my dog continued to hotly pursue the white rabbit.

 

“In that story, young man, is the answer to your question.”

 

The young man sat in confused silence. Finally, he said, “Abba, I don’t understand. What is the connection between the rabbit chase and the quest for holiness?’

 

“You fail to understand,” answered the old hermit. “because you failed to ask the obvious question. Why didn’t the other dogs continue on the chase?  And the answer to that question is that they had not seen the rabbit.”

 

If you and I don’t have an experience of the Divine Mystery in some form, we will lack the energy necessary to keep up the pursuit for holiness.

 

If you and I haven’t already seen and experienced the Christ – the risen Lord – we won’t look for him today.

 

The stark reality is that Mary and Peter and only a few were ready for the resurrection. The thought of the stone being rolled back was beyond most people’s imagination.

It was only the few who had really paid attention that seemed to be ready to acknowledge this amazing fact.

Perhaps it was because they had seen signs of resurrection that they were able to proclaim it.

But many people were resistant to the newness that this Jesus offered them – and perhaps it is understandable.

Perhaps it is easier to believe that the rich Pharisee who contributes a lot of cash and performs all the observable rites is holier than the poor disc helved woman who gives little and hides in the back. And so they were resistant to seeing with the new eyes of Jesus.

And perhaps its simpler to believe that the leper and the lame person are steeped in sin and should be shunned away. And so they were resistant to the new way of looking and loving that Jesus offered.

And perhaps it was easier to depend on the ritual and the laws of the Sabbath and the prescripts of the law – the black and white of things and so they were resistant to seeing outside the box as Jesus invited them to.

They didn’t see signs of the stone being rolled back – the new life that he offered while he walked and talked with them. And so they couldn’t see the new life and the stone rolled back on Easter Morning.

 

We gather this holy night to celebrate, to proclaim, to shout alleluia to the central fact of who we are as a people. We have been told that Jesus has overturned the tables, rewritten the rules and rolled back the stone. And we have also been told that if this is not true- if it is just and interpretation or just an opinion then none of the rest of what we do means anything.

 

Perhaps Mary and Peter and the other disciple really wanted to see newness – they were predisposed to it in a sense. Because they expected it and had sensed it they could stay with it.

 

As we celebrate this Easter we can wonder ourselves how well we can believe in the Resurrection – the Divine Mystery – this overwhelming turn of events. Maybe if we’re not predisposed to it – if we haven’t looked for it throughout this Lent – or if we only relegate it to our Sunday Morning ritual – like the dogs in the story we might drop out after the lilies die and the Alleluia quiets down. In a sense we have to be sitting on the edge our chairs looking continually for the signs of the resurrection – we have to be predisposed to this wonder.

 

Remember the play Harvey – by Mary Chase? The following is from that play in which Elwood P. Dowd’s best drinking buddy was a six-foot invisible white rabbit named Harvey.

 

Elwood is telling how he met Harvey:

 

“I had just helped Ed Hickey into a taxi. Ed had been mixing his rye with his gin, and I felt he needed conveying. I started to walk down the street when I heard a voice saying: “Good evening, Mr. Dowd.”  I turned and there was this great white rabbit leaning against a lamp-post.  Well, I thought nothing of that, because when you have lived in a town as long as I have lived in this one, you get used to the fact that everyone knows your name.  Naturally, I went over to chat with him…”You have the advantage of me.  You know my name and I don’t know yours.”  Right back at me he said: “What name do you like?” Well, I didn’t even have to think a minute:  Harvey has always been a favorite name. So I said, “Harvey,” and this is the interesting part of the whole thing.  He said, “What a coincidence! My name happens to be Harvey.”

 

Elwood readily accepted the unusual – no wonder he would see the white rabbit.

 

 

Are we ready to see the newness that Easter offers? Are we ready to experience the world turned around –as Jesus has recreated it?

 

Can we see healing in the world – healing promoted by love?

Can we see peace in the world – peace fostered by respect for God’s presence in one another?

Can we see co-operation instead of competition, welcoming instead of exclusion, a service centered life instead of  one-upmanship?

 

Of course we know that like those early Christians who looked for the resurrection and embraced this new posture that Jesus invited them to – life can’t be the same after we start looking for signs of Jesus the resurrected one.

 

Every encounter becomes transformed. Every relationship is based on it.  Every business deal, every vote we cast, every meeting in the super market isle is infused with resurrection eyes.

 

Read in the Acts of the Apostles what happened to those who encountered the risen Jesus. And of course in the weeks ahead we will – they were new women and men – they were community – they were people who were transformed.

 

Of course we also read that it was too much for some – like the dogs in the rabbit race some dropped out. But those who didn’t – those who kept following and looking for the risen one were Alleluia people – they were filled with joy.

 

Let’s try looking for that risen Lord each day – It’s a new vision. It transforms us. And as we are changed so we change the world about us and it indeed begins to look more like the reign of God.