The Earth Shook

From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!" Matthew 27:45-54  

Some days our world is shaken and everything changes. Whether it is a chance encounter with someone, a moment when we turn and go another way, or a tragic moment - we all have times when everything changes and the ground underneath us shakes. We like it when everything is smooth, calm and unchanging. In real life, everything is changing, moving and unpredictable. The constancy in our lives is the love of God and yet we cling to what we think is solid and firm.

Jesus is dying and the world is turning in the peoples' watching. The world was very dark, and then everything was shaken up by divine love, love which has power greater than death. Even the soldiers could not mistake the real power of God's love for the Incarnate Son. We are invited today to stand in the midst of our darkness and shaking, knowing that God is doing a new thing, bringing new love and possibilities for us all.

Today I ask God to help me be strong when the dark settles in. May our hearts be open to receive spectacular newness, wondrous changes and miracles we could never imagine.