They couldn't stop replaying it all in their minds.
They thought and then they over thought. It came back in flashbacks.
From Holy Thursday to Good Friday, to Holy Saturday ...
How did it all escalate so quickly?
And they were afraid. Jesus had been put to death. As His followers, they thought they were next. Any minute the Romans would pound on the door and find them. And then ...
So, they locked the doors. That is what fear does. It locks things up. Control and fear run side by side.
And then, right in the midst of their fear, overthinking, and locks: "Jesus came and stood in their midst" (Jn 20:19).
He walks right into fear.
They didn't have to get their lives all straightened out first; they didn't have to control everything; and they didn't even have to stop overthinking. "Jesus came and stood in their midst" (Jn 20:19).
Jesus is the Risen One. He is risen from the dead. Death has no more power over Him. Christ has defeated the devil, conquered sin, and destroyed death definitively by His death and glorious resurrection.
It doesn't mean fear will automatically go away. It doesn't mean everything will be easy and work out our way. It doesn't mean we will be able to control everything. Far from it.
It means that the new creation has already begun in Christ Himself. He gives us the means to share in His new creation by holding on to Him - especially through our reception of the Sacraments.
The grace we receive from the Sacraments unfastens the locks in our lives. Locks often let go slowly. The grace of the Sacraments casts away fear. It allows us to see again the beauty of Christ and His invitation to us to share His life. During this Easter Season accept His sacred invitation and draw close to Jesus!
God bless,
Msgr. Brian Bransfield
