Today's Gospel: Mark 16:9-15

Mary Magdalene was the first to witness the resurrected Jesus, and so excited to share the good news, but the disciples didn’t believe her. Jesus appeared to two others and again they were not believed, so a third time Jesus appeared, this time to the entire group, and basically chewed them out for not believing the others. This group of men and women were about to be commissioned to go out and proclaim the Lord’s teachings and expect to be believed, but they themselves could not believe each other! For three years our Lord had been teaching, preaching, and performing miracles of healing, forgiveness, and commanding that death wait for some until a later time, all in the presence of his disciples, showing who he really was. His resurrection from the dead was the most difficult for the disciples to believe. Jesus rebuked them for their disbelief and hardness of heart. But this kind of reality would really be hard to believe, even with Jesus telling them prior to his death that he would come back, that he would rebuild the temple in three days. But to the disciples the reality of what all had happened to Jesus, his surviving and living again just wasn’t comprehensible.

My husband is a research scientist and not Catholic, mostly due to his trouble with the resurrection. He knows Jesus is Lord, but the puzzle pieces do not all fit together. I and a few others have tried to help him through this by giving him books to read, lectures to hear, and conversations with a priest and pastors, to no avail. I love him where he is, but like St. Monica, I will pray unceasingly for him to figure it all out.

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Ponder:

Is the resurrection of our Lord a difficult fact to believe? Have you ever had someone tell you that this is a hard fact for them to believe? If so, how have you helped them?

Pray:

Dear Lord, how mighty are you and patient with our disbelief! Thank you for your love and life in us; thank you for showing us how much you love us. Help us to believe this and help others to believe this as well. We ask this though your name. Amen

 

Copyright 2017 Ebeth

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About the Author

Ebeth Weidner

Ebeth Weidner

Ebeth Weidner, a Master Catechist and cradle Catholic who considers herself a Catholic information junkie, writes from her heart about the faith and hope she finds in the Catholic Church. She is the author of “A Catholic Mom Climbing the Pillars” blog. She is the wife of a research science Professor and mom to 3 great young adults people living on the coastal side of North Carolina.