(4th Sunday of Easter: Acts 2:36-41; 1 Peter 2:20-25; John 10:1-10)
In the fourth reading of the Easter Vigil, God says through Isaiah: “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great tenderness I will take you back. In an outburst of wrath, for a moment I hid my face from you; but with enduring love I take pity on you.”
Here is contained all the message of La Salette. Is any further commentary needed?
Brothers and sisters: If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory (Colossians 3:1-4).
In a few words St. Paul tells us what the resurrection of Christ has done. Only in Christ's resurrection can we hope for a new life: "Your life is hidden now with Christ in God." It is indeed paradoxical that a miracle no one has seen—for no one saw the resurrection take place—have the greatest impact on the life of every believer. The other miracles of Christ benefited those persons for whom they were worked, and manifested Christ's power and goodness in that time and place. They also showed us the depths of his mercy and compassion.
But the resurrection is a miracle that he performed for us, a miracle still at work this day. Our belief is that this Christ rose for our benefit, our salvation, our total and present well-being. It is not enough to think of Jesus Christ as a stunning personality, endowed with riveting eloquence, fathomless mercy and boundless compassion. All of these qualities are measured with a human rule.
The French and Spanish Lectionaries include information that is not evident in the English translation of the first reading, i.e.: Meribah comes from the verb meaning “to quarrel,” and Massah “to test.” Both refer to the adversarial character of the episode when the Hebrews dared to bring a case against the Lord.
In Micah 6:1-2, the prophet summons his people: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice! Hear, O mountains, the Lord’s case... For the Lord has a case against his people.” Here is that Meribah word again, now as “case.”
Among the most distinctive features of the Apparition of Our Lady of La Salette, as you well know, are the hammer and pincers on either side of the crucifix. We are used to seeing them attached to the cross, but in fact they were not.
People seeing these for the first time always ask what they mean. You are familiar with the traditional interpretation, but I think it might be more helpful to respond with another question. Supposing Mary simply showed herself to the children without saying a word, how would we understand her purpose?
Carpenters tools in and of themselves would have no special meaning. But, as they are associated with the Crucified One, they must have a connection with the Passion of Jesus. And they served opposite purposes.
It is no wonder that they have always been explained as calling us to choose between “life and death, good and evil,” as we read today in Sirach, who is paraphrasing Moses’ speech in Deuteronomy 30:15.
All of today’s readings are about choice. The psalmist chooses fidelity to God’s statutes; Paul has opted for “God’s wisdom, mysterious, hidden;” and Jesus says four times, “You have heard... but I say to you,” demanding our allegiance to his teaching.