What We Really Want

Think for just a minute - think about what you want.
No, really - what is it that you want?


This was the question posed during the homily at the Easter Vigil when my sister and brother-in-law were received into the church two years ago. At the time (Fr. K gave us a few seconds to think) I thought about my other sister (the one in the hospital) and how I wanted her to be "fixed," to be whole again. And I thought about some of the things I wanted to accomplish in my life.


So did you think of something? Okay, good. 
Now here's the deal: that's not what you really want.


Yeah, I know, that's what I thought, too, when Fr. K. said that to us. What do you mean that's not what I really want? But he went on to say, "what you really want is perfection, for the world to be transformed, for everything to be in perfect order in the way God planned."


And he was right. When I looked deeper, past my immediate needs and wishes, I could see that those really are my truest desires. I don't just want my circumstances to be easier; I want the world to be completely different.


Therein lies the real thrill of Easter (and the point of his homily): Jesus was not resurrected to his "old" life. He did not get his body back the way it was; he did not just get his wounds fixed. He was resurrected to a new life, a perfect way of being. And - how great our joy! His death and resurrection mean that true transformation is possible. And that's what we all really want.