My Impressions on Easter Morning

I have not written about the celebration of Easter this year.  I rose hoping to get some pictures of a glorious sunrise over a body of water in the city I love on a half marathon distance run with lots of time for reflection by myself.  I achieved almost all those goals.  The main thing I did not achieve was the glorious sunrise pictures as the weather did not cooperate.  Instead I got a series of impressionistic pictures of the reflection on Lake Montebello.  Not bad for the morning.  But not capturing the glorious mystery of Easter morning.

However, that did not mean that I didn't have a chance to ponder the meaning.  My run was a good one.  I averaged 8:14 miles.  My route took me around past the post office and the old grocery story, down the Alameda, down Loch Raven, across 33rd, down Old York Rd to Greenmount, down to 25th, across 25th to Harford, up to Hillen, around Lake, up Hillen, and returning to where I began.  Areas of the city past many churches.  Not many areas that are in really bad condition, but many reminders that not everyone in Baltimore is as comfortable as I am.   

The reason I run a half marathon on Easter morning actually ties in with the Biblical text.  There were two disciples who were on the road to Emmaus who met a stranger, continued the walk with the stranger, and ate a meal with the stranger.  As the story goes, the stranger turned out to be Jesus, whom they disciples recognized because of his actions.  Being recognizable because of the consistency and integrity of my actions is something I always aspire to. The relationship to a half marathon is that some scholars estimate that the distance from Jerusalem to Emmaus was about 1/4 of a marathon.  After the disciples recognized Jesus, the story goes that he disappeared and they disciples ran back to Jerusalem. So, I figure if they went a half marathon between the walk and run, I can run a  half marathon to reflect on what went on.  

Of course, Easter Sunday only happened because of the crucifixion on Good Friday.  My second tattoo helps me remember an important aspect of Good Friday that went along with the crucifixion but focused on another character in the story--Mary Magdalene. She was there when Jesus died, followed the men who took his body to a tomb, saw the stone rolled in from the of the tomb, and (according to at least one Gospel) stayed when everyone else left.  To me, that speaks of being present for someone you love in a way that few other actions could.  

And Good Friday followed the Holy Thursday dinner in which Jesus washed his apostles feet.  A symbol of a leader thinking of how to serve those he was leading. A powerful way to build loyalty and a sense of team.

So, while I will still go to church later and continue to reflect on the messages that the priest will share, my Easter Sunday experience of reflection that only requires thinking about the stories rather than having faith began long before I will enter St Pius X church.  

A Sunday Out and Back in Easter Season Makes Me Think Of...

Today, I ran an out and back--sort of.  I drove to meet one of my running friends who ran her first Boston Marathon this year whom I had not seen in person since she ran Boston.  We met at "the corner" (33rd and Greenmount) and ran the Old Baltimore 10 Miler course.  It is definitely an out and back type of course from the zoo to Lake Montebello, around the Lake, and back again.  In this case, we went to the zoo, the back to more or less where we started, then to Montebello, and then back to the start.  So it was actually out and back in two different directions.  And I really dislike out and back courses at this point.  But I am happier to do them when I am with the good company of a fellow runner.  And I am even happier to do them on a course that I have raced before (this one) or plan to race again this year (not this one--I decided I don't like the heat in June for racing that far).

In any case, when I think of running out and back during Easter season in the church, the reading from two weeks ago comes to me. That is the reading along the road to Emmaus.  I have written about Emmaus before.  It is an easy story to think of and one that can have lots of meanings. It is also something that was read at the last wedding I attended in Septmeber 2012.  And it was a wedding of two runners.  And it mentions 7 miles and teh two on the road to Emmaus running back to Jerusalem.  A distance of 7 miles.  A little longer than a half marathon.  A good bit longer than what I ran today.  But definitely something that I think of when I run any out and back.  What do I find when I get there?  How does what I find represent God's goodness and grace revealed to me?  And how much do I want to share it when I get back?

In my case, I am always big on sharing through my blog.  The key question is whether there was any evidence of God's goodness and grace today.  Of course there was.  The bright sun.  The reflection on Lake Montebello.  The good friendship that led to conversation most of the time.  The healthy pace.  The taking of hills.  The running of the lake clockwise--which I have never done before and seeing it all in a new way going to "wrong" direction.  I shared it with my running partner this morning.  I am sharing it with others now.  The out and back also brought us into interaction with other runners.  In fact, one of them was on the track with the large group last Wednesday when I ran.  And the first time I met him was about three years ago in the same season preparing for the Baltimore 10 Miler in 2011 when I was running the course to get a feel for it and he and another runner who were pacing the race were there at the same time.  Apparenetly some patterns never change.  And that is one part of the beauty of the life of a runner. The seasonality of so many things.  The return.  The ability to take a second look and see what may be different.  

And the story of Emmaus goes along somewhat with the theme that Father Sam talked about at 5:30 mass at St. Pius X today.  He focused on setting aside the earthly trappings of success.  White garments without gold.  His uneasiness with the stained glas window with our church's patron showing him with a mace (a sign of worldly power) rather than a cross.  Certainly, my friend this morning and I having both qualified for and run Boston have an eye toward earthly measures of running success.  But each of us also sees running as part of a larger framework of health and wellness and achievement and goal setting in our lives and in the lives of other runners around us.

He also talked about radical change.  While he did not talk about that with respect to Emmaus a few weeks back, it certainly was a radical and life changing experience for the two walkers-turned runners in the Bible.  And running has definitely brought about a radical transformation in my life.  (Friends, activities, blogging, self-image, story telling, etc.)  It is something that can bring about radical transformations for so many.  Some just see running as a chore to stay fit.  For me, it is part of the radical change that all began with running my first marathon and getting number 1313.  

Incidentally, with the 10.4 miles today, I ran 39 this week and am now at 803.9 two days short of 20 weeks into the year.  Thus, I am very much on pace to hit the half way to 2000 mile mark early.  My current position is on Pocahontas Rd in Highlands, IL, a bit north of I-70, and a near a stream that leads to the north end of the Old City Reservoir.   

40 Days to Better: Day 21

Today is another non-running day as are most Sundays now.  That is fine.  A day of rest after a hard run and a therapeutic massage is not a bad thing.

As for today's lesson it will be brief, as there is a lot to do today.

Today's lesson at St. Pius X for third graders will include the completion of last week's lesson.  In last week's lesson we talked about how God speaks to people.  One example is the story of the road to Emmaus.  On that, God, as part of the Holy Trinity, was in the form of the risen Jesus.  

I have always loved the story.  

There are certain aspects of the story that I find particularly appealing--especially how the disciples eventually identify Jesus through the breaking of the bread.  Bread is a constant theme in my life, and if I ever get a second tattoo (and I am not sure that I will) bread will be an important feature.

In any case, this is the first wedding anniversary for two friends of mine who had a wonderful wedding ceremony last year on Saturday September 22.  

The gospel story of the Road to Emmaus was the gospel reading at their Catholic wedding.

It is a wonderful story but I never really thought of it as something for a wedding.  I had always presumed that the two disciples on the road were men.  My one friend pointed out that there are some interpretations suggesting it was a man and woman.  What a wonderful story then for thinking about recognizing Christ together as part of a couple's spiritual life.

This is just one example of looking for second meanings and then thinking of how a second interpretation can be translated into a new insight, a new meaning, a new lesson, and something new to help me act.

I am sure that lesson can be carried over to other parts of my life to help me on my road to better.

Two Interesting Readings

After the Gospel last Sunday was read, a friend in church reminded me that she and I had discussed how her favorite reading was the story of the walk on the road to Emmaus and then shared that her second favorite story was the Transfiguration (the Gospel that had just been read).  I got to thinking about those two stories.

I wrote a lot about the road to Emmaus after a friend's wedding last September.  I was thinking about how the story of the Transfiguration and Emmaus fit together.  One conclusion that I reached is that both are about transformations before the eyes of followers of Jesus.  In the Transfiguration there are three apostles with Jesus who suddenly see Jesus dressed differentl and speaking with Moses and Elijah.  Then a voice told them that this was "my Son" and after that Jesus returned to his normal self.  In the road to Emmaus, Jesus was walking with two who know of him who did not realize that it was Jesus until he broke bread.  After that, Jesus immediately disappeared.  Both stories involve new ways of looking at Jesus.  Both involve changes in the followers' beliefs.  Both involve sudden changes after the realizations.  Both leave me thinking--if I had such a strong but short revelation--what would I do?  Would it change me forever, or would the brevity leave me wondering and more confused?  I don't know.

However, I find each story so interesting as they show how humans are sometimes left to struggle with messages from the divine.  The reactions were so different. The apostles with Jesus didn't tell anyone, whereas the two on the road to Emmaus immediately ran back to Jerusalem to share the news with others.  Which would I do if given the choice?

Emmaus

Today, I accompanied my eight year old to church at 9 AM to participate in a workshop that is part of the preparation for his First Holy Communion.   One of the elements of the workshop was the director from the parish reading a version of the story of the road to Emmaus.  I have always liked the story (perhaps not as much as our director who described it as one of her favorite stories from the Bible), but my view of the story has changed in the past six months.  Back in September, I was at a wedding of two runners who used the story of the road to Emmaus as the Gospel reading for their wedding mass.  I blogged about it back then, so I won't repeat my earlier thoughts here.  

I will, however, comment on two things.  First, it is wonderful for the kids to think about ways that they might be surprised to "meet Jesus".  Second, while I thought about it last time as a runner, I thought about it today with that in mind but also as a "baker" as we talked about and participated in making unleavened bread.  I was glad to hear the diretor make a point about unleavened bread because in at least one of our parish Sunday school textbooks there is a picture of Jesus at the last supper with what is clearly a loaf of bread that had a chance to rise which is just so wrong.  Third, the director's emphasis was on how the two people on the road to Emmaus recognized Jesus because of something he did as part of a meal that they recognized.  So much of this is about how people related. (As a brief aside, this is also critical to me looking ahead as my new position will really involve working with people more than working with data or research and that is a skill that really shows in the story of Emmaus.)

What I struggled with in listening to the story this morning was that in the version read to the kids it identified the two on the road to Emmaus before meeting Jesus as two men. So, I went back to the NABRE version of Luke 24:13-35 and it never says they were two men.  It only mentions the name of one.  I'd always pictured two men until the wedding in September where my one friend suggested that it might have been a couple and the beauty of the idea of discovering Jesus together.  If one focuses on verse 32 (and I don't typically like to focus on just one verse), one finds "Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?"  That alone is an amazing thought for a couple.  To share the love for, passion for, and joy for their spiritual, religious experience and relationship with God.  It is a wonderful way for a couple to come together and an even more amazing way for a couple to stay together.

I suppose I'll ask our director tomorrow before I teach what she thinks about the two people on the road.  Regardless, it was a great story for a wedding four months ago, and a great story for the kids today.  And, as the director said, it gives us so much to think about in terms of how Jesus relates to us and how we related to each other and God in just 23 verses.  

Three Well Chosen Readings

Each Catholic wedding has the potential to be a unique experience.  At least among people I know, the bride and groom working with the priest who will celebrate the wedding mass have a chance to choose the readings.  A Catholic mass typically includes one reading from the Old Testament, one reading from the New Testament that is not part of the Gospel, and a Gospel reading.  Each couple has many reasons for choosing the readings they do.  Each couple is at a unique point in their lives in terms of their understanding of their faith and their understanding of themselves.  The choice of readings was guided by both for me and Sherry 20+ years ago when we planned our wedding.  We were just two people of an age we now refer to as "kids" (22 at the time we were married) who had attended mass regularly, had some exposure to what was called CCD at the time (Sherry having more than me), and had been involved in the campus ministry while in college.  At Jackie and Patrick's wedding (at a slightly later point in their lives with a different background in exposure to and working with their faith) the choices were clearly inspired by their understanding of themselves and their faith.  And, as I am clearly one who thinks about how the words I am hearing from the Bible relate to the current day (myself or, in this case, those whose wedding is being celebrated) I projected from the readings onto my own life experiences and the lives of the two beautiful individuals getting married.

The first reading was Micah 6:6-8

With what shall I come before the LORD,
and bow before God most high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old? 

Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with myriad streams of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my crime,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 

You have been told, O mortal, what is good,
and what the LORD requires of you:
Only to do justice and to love goodness,
and to walk humbly with your God.

I have never known Jackie and Patrick to be anything but humble.  Quiet--not necessarily.  Shy--definitely not.  But wonderful examples of humility before everyone and focused so much on the lives of others.  Giving not to be noticed but because it is right and it all comes from their hearts.

The second reading was from the letter to the Hebrews (12:1-3)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us 

while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God. 

Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart.

As I heard this one, I looked around at the packed chapel on Loyola's campus (where Jackie and Patrick had met, gotten engaged, and were getting married) where they were surrounded by a cloud of witnesses as two people whose eyes are truly fixed on Jesus.  Running races (both figuratively and literally) is something they do a lot and endurance (whether the opposition of sinners as mentioned in the reading or, more, in a running race) is an important part of their lives.

Finally, the Gospel reading was Luke 24: 13-35, the story of the Road to Emmaus.  I won't copy and paste the whole thing (it is a long reading) but there is a link above.  It mentions that the disciples were walking a distance of seven miles when they came upon the person they did not recognize as Jesus at first.  In the reading, they ended up walking seven miles to Emmaus and seven miles back--14 miles or just over the distance of a half marathon.  Yes, my brain actually went to thinking about how it was like an "out and back" course that the two disciples ended up walking.  What else did I think about?  Jackie conducts many of the orientations for community members who want to be new participants in Back on My Feet.  I remember that she told us to try to remember to say hello to as many people as possible when out on our runs.  Just to be polite.  Just to try to brighten people's day.  Whether the person was homeless, outside a shelter of some sort, at a bus stop, or at Health Care for the Homeless.  There are many popular stories about how a person might come to meet Jesus or someone representative of the qualities of Jesus in a modern setting and overlook that person.  This is where I connected the story.  When we are out running with Back on My Feet, we never know who we will meet on the road.  We never know what type of difference we might make for the people we meet or what type of difference they may make for us.  We never know who might be able to demonstrate for us and share with us the grace of God.  In fact, we never know anywhere in our lives when we will come upon a sign from God or the second coming of Jesus himself.  Yet we should always be open to it.  And the disciples, once they realized that they had seen Jesus, did the second half of their "course" quickly and shared all the news when they returned.  Again, so closely similar to the experience of many runners who share stories about what they saw, who they experienced, and how they felt when they get back from a run.  And this relates to Jackie and Patrick not only because a half marathon distance is something with which they both are familiar but also because I know that they live their lives in a way that shows they are always open to receiving God's grace.  To welcoming a stranger.  To extending hospitality to a stranger.  To listening.  To relating.  And to sharing stories of the little things and most important things in life.

Their three readings were well chosen for them.  And their three readings served as a reminder for me. Of how incredible my two friends are.  And of the importance of living a life of humility, perseverance, and openness to the grace of God every day.