April 9, 2010
The Second Half
Finding Christ
BY DEACON JIM AND ANN CAVERA
On the Monday after Easter we spent part of the day walking through the grounds of a nearby shrine. Scattered along the forest paths of this particular shrine were many shelters, grottos and sculptures dedicated to Jesus, the Virgin Mary and various saints. We were taking our time when a small group of adults with children hurried past us. The children scrambled over some large rocks beside the trail and were the first to enter a grotto that had been built to represent the tomb of Christ. In the back of this cave a life-size plaster figure of the crucified Christ rests on a ledge. By the time we strolled in behind the small group, the adults and children were standing in awkward silence before the figure of Christ. After a few moments, a child of five or six broke the silence by asking “Who is he? What happened to him?”
All of the adults, including Jim and I, were surprised by the boy’s questions. The details of Christ’s death and resurrection are so familiar to us we forget many people know little of our faith other than what they see on television. Unfortunately, Christ’s message of life, peace and joy is seldom mentioned by the media. The reality of our culture is that non-Catholics may be far more familiar with negative news coverage of our church than they are with what Catholics believe. The child’s questions were followed by more silence until one of the adults fumbled out an answer about how “some people hurt Jesus but he is okay now because he is alive. He is just fine.”
Jim and I weren’t sure either of us could have done much better on the spur of the moment. We found ourselves wondering how we might share the love of Christ with children who are too young to comprehend the horror of crucifixion. The most important thing we would want them to know is that God is pure love and wisdom beyond anything we can imagine. We would want children to know God loves us so much he sent his Son to make sure we know how great his love is. We would also have to tell them there were some people who refused to believe God’s message. They didn’t believe the wonderful secret Jesus was trying to teach us and so they had him killed. There really isn’t any way around the death of Jesus, but part of the good news is that hate and anger can’t destroy love. Love lasts forever and it is stronger than death. In fact, death couldn’t keep Jesus in the tomb.
We found ourselves wishing a different tableau had been chosen for the inside of this grotto. We wished the children had burst into the cave and discovered a sculpture of an angel on the ledge beside an empty shroud. The words from Matthew, “He is not here. He has been raised, just as he said,” might have been written in glorious golden calligraphy above the ledge. Perhaps sculptures of an awestruck John and Peter would have added something to the scene. After all, no one ever entered the tomb and found Christ dead. That is exactly the point, isn’t it? Like the amazed disciples and women who left the empty tomb, in the garden, we must find words to spread the news.
Deacon Jim and Ann Cavera are former residents of Evansville; their award-winning column is a regular feature of the Message. Contact them at www.catholicseniorspirit.com.