WHAT WOULD I ASK JESUS ON FACEBOOK LIVE?
He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” - Mark 9:15
We have all been creating new routines, new realities in the past month. A host of online retreats, faith sharing opportunities, workouts, and educational experiences have popped up in the last few weeks. I’ve seen the memes about how Shakespeare wrote King Lear during a bubonic plague quarantine and Isaac Newton discovered gravity during an outbreak. I myself am struggling to keep up with the dishes and laundry. Some days the stress of “making the most” of these offerings can actually be overwhelming. We are trying to work from home, facilitate kindergarten distance learning, and entertain our preschooler and baby all within finite spaces and a limited amount of time.
One of the things that has emerged as a “fan favorite” in our household is the “Home Safari” offered by the Cincinnati Zoo. Each day our kindergartener thinks about what questions he wants to ask the zookeepers during the Facebook Live events. As we participated in some elements of the Easter Triduum via livestreams and recordings, he wondered if he could “type some questions” to the presiders. Really, he was hoping he could send some messages to Jesus.
When we asked him what he would ask Jesus, he said he wanted to know that everyone in heaven was safe from the coronavirus, in particular a family friend who died earlier this year. He was also concerned with Jesus’ suffering and wanted to know more about why he chose the Cross. Finally, he said he would ask Jesus to come to our dinner table and turn the food into his Body and Blood.
The Easter season readings are filled with stories of Jesus appearing to people in unexpected places and ways: Mary Magdalen, the disciples on the Road to Emmaus, and the Apostles gathered in the upper room. His appearances received mixed responses, and Jesus even rebukes the Apostles for not believing the first people to witness the Resurrection.
How often have I, like the Apostles, failed to recognize that Jesus has already appeared to me? He is cradling the lonely, comforting the sick in Intensive Care Units, holding the hands of the health care workers and first responders. Jesus is here at my dinner table, sitting on my sofa, and crawling on my living room floor. I am not waiting for the Resurrection. I am trying to remind myself that I am living in it each day.
Jen Coito