The resurrection of Jesus was a hidden event. Jesus didn't rise from the grave to baffle his opponents, to make a victory statement, or to prove to those who crucified him that he was right after all. Jesus rose as a sign to those who had loved him and followed him that God's divine love is stronger than death. To the women and men who had committed themselves to him, he revealed that his mission had been fulfilled. To those who shared in his ministry, he gave the sacred task to call all people into the new life with him.
The world didn't take notice. Only those whom he called by name, with whom he broke bread, and to whom he spoke words of peace were aware of what happened. Still, it was this hidden event that freed humanity from the shackles of death.
(With thanks to the Henri Nouwen Society)
The power of hidden things again, of obscurity and avoiding the public gesture, the fanfare and the announcement. Hidden not because esoteric, not because revealed only to an inner ring of those-who-know, but hidden in plain view, like plants that thrive in shadow, like the lives of countless women and men whose lives of prayer have sustained the Church throughout history from desert places, forests, and anchorages far from cathedrals and the courts of earthly kings.
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