It’s getting warmer, which means a lot of us will be heading to the beach in the coming weeks, and we will come once again to that fateful moment. It’s time to get wet. Some of us will go in slowly, feeling the cool water working up our bodies with each step. Others will simply take the plunge. Often there is that in-between. And in any case, once we’ve enjoyed that cool, refreshing water, when we hear someone complaining about the heat we say, “Come on in, the water’s fine!”

John’s account of that first Easter night is like that sparkling ocean. It is ever-changing, waves rolling in, infinite shades of blue and green, the sun sparkling on the tops of the waves, and a great deal we cannot truly know about it until we get in, until we take the plunge.

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I expect many of us have seen The Passion of the Christ. It actually came out 18 years ago. Ever since, that movie illustrates the Passion for me. I can see Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, on trial, being beaten, and on the cross as depicted in this film. It is hard to watch because they made the film as authentic as possible regarding the brutality of life in Israel under Roman rule.

As the film moves from the trial to Golgotha, the place of a skull, and the crucifixion, gloom enshrouds the moment. Everything in the film darkens, they used a lot of browns, grays and black.

But they had a problem. Mary Magdalene was played by Monica Bellucci. She is a very lovely Italian actress and her beauty was distracting from the gloomy mood.

So they tried to “dirty up” Ms. Bellucci. When I say, “dirty up” I mean they put dirt, real live dirt, on her face. They were literally grabbing it up from the ground and rubbing it on her face. Very authentic. And, of course, she’s crying a lot, so her eyes and face get a little puffy, her tears run through the dirt, and they added more dirt.

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We celebrate Easter this evening with the joy of welcoming Drew Smith into Christ’s Body, the Church and the joy of First Communion with him and this whole group of youngsters. And there was great joy in working with these kids over the last few weeks to prepare them. Deacon John and I loved meeting with them. That took form in several ways.

You spend time with these kids and you become refreshed in your hope for the future! They are so bright, so thoughtful and so faithful. They listened carefully and spoke in turn. They were kind and respectful to each other and to Deacon John and me. Now, I know that is causing some degree of surprise to their parents. “Why can’t they be like that at home?” (I get it. My parents had the same wonder when my friend’s parents would remark about how nice I was.)

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