Easter Letter 2010 –

Hi everyone.

Holy Week – Easter – Meet you at the Jubilee -  and a medium sized piece of Chocolate with only one bite taken out.

It’s Friday morning in Holy Week.  The Day Jesus Died. We wear Black Clothing in sorrow, mourning and respect, leave our jobs for the day, if we can, eat simplest of food, take off our shoes to walk barefoot in solemn procession to show respect to the Holy Cross.  Once again, we formally “Tell our Sacred Stories.” Re-live these Events to ourselves and our children.  We, today in our turn, as  our ancestors have done for 2,000 years.

How Jesus – after they condemned him – beat Him up so badly,  force marched him through the  crowds in Jerusalem town  out to a lonely hill where they put up 3 crosses. And there He died in thunder and storm and an eclipse of the sun.

And then his body to a tomb and three days later, it all changed.  He had gone down to ‘Middle Earth” – found Adam and Eve – and all our ancestors and told them:  Wake up.  Wake up.  It’s time!  We’re all going home to heaven. Our long time ago great grandmothers and those of ages beyond,  went to the tomb – empty – The Angel asked them, “What are you doing here?  He’s Risen from the Dead. They hurried off to tell the men.!  And the word spread: ‘Meet you at the Jubilee!  We’re all going to have a party!’  Hurry on over!’

And we still here on earth, sing joyous songs, light candles, put on Happy clothes, flowers in our hair! Maybe like  they all said:  Meet you at the Jubilee!  Hurry on over!

And our  Jubilee is here in Klong Toey with our  200 kids.  Easter Eggs and of course chocolate.  But back to that in a minute.

You know, It wasn’t just Jerusalem yesterday and getting beat up so badly and  dying and three crosses on a lonely hill.

It’s yesterday and today for each of us. Mostly the road you take to avoid it all is the path that leads to your destiny. But let’s not be alone, let’s – each of us – side by side - do our own walking through Jerusalem and to the Jubilee.

But the chocolate. Here in Mercy Centre in Klong Toey Slums of Bangkok.  Early last evening, I went up stairs to see our five year old who was terribly abused. She was running around as usual, but really hanging on to me and one of the house moms and I started to ‘tear up’- silent crying – if you wish – and she asked me why I was crying and I didn’t say anything, so she gave me a hug and told me to make a funny face, and that would make me better, and then she went over to her locker, took out ‘her stash’ and handed me  a piece of chocolate that she’d only taken one bite out of. And it was her last piece.  She’d been saving it.

And maybe it only takes a medium sized piece of chocolate candy, with only one bite out of it – to bring us back.

Easter Blessings to each of you. Today is the Day the Lord has Made.

Respectfully       fr joe in klong toey slums,  bangkok