Many of the images Jesus chose in his teaching or manifests in his relationships are images of tender, loving care and intimacy.

When I was a young priest, I was often surprised by the number of people I met who were “disappointed by God”, and so they walked away from Him.  “God never answered my prayers, so I stopped praying.” 

“Peace be with you.” This was the greeting of Jesus to his apostles on his first appearance after he has risen from the dead. After that, his disciples were first astonished at seeing him. Then he greeted them again, “Peace be with you”.

The Easter celebrations this year are very interesting and certainly very different. It’s really our first Easter Triduum without the richness and the beauty of our liturgical Services, which we normally experience as a community of faith in our parishes.

This is one of the very few occasions that we have two gospels in one Mass. And I have often said how contrasting these two are.

In John’s Gospel, this is what Jesus said to Martha as she was grieving the death of her brother Lazarus. 

What strange and unsettling days we are living in. Within a matter of weeks our society has been rendered almost unrecognisable thanks to the spread of the coronavirus and the restrictions that are now in place to save lives.

In beautiful autumn weather we see many Australian beaches fenced off and deserted. Shopping centre shelves have been stripped, thousands of people have lost their jobs, churches are closed and even the footy has been cancelled. Where can we find hope in all of this?

The gospel story for today begins with an interesting question: the disciples ask: has the man who was born blind sinned (and thus caused his own blindness) or have his parents sinned?  Jesus answers “neither”.

Many years ago, I was watching a TV show about newly wedded husband and wives. It was a fun show about how do you know your partner. They would have questions like, “What’s your favourite ice cream flavour?” “What’s your favourite footy team?”

 The Gospel reading of today speaks of the transfiguration of the Lord. Jesus’ appearance changed on the high mountain: his face shone like the sun and his clothes became dazzling white.