Nine-year-old Sally lives next door to Mr. Grumpy. Well it isn’t really Mr. Grumpy, but the way he constantly yells at the neighborhood children when they are too loud, or threatens them when their ball rolls into his yard, the name “ Mr. Grumpy” seems appropriate. Yet every morning on her way to school Sally picks up Mr. Grumpy’s paper from the sidewalk, and places it on his front porch.  It’s a bit of hike, but Sally does it anyway.  Once in a while Sally believes she sees My Grumpy peeking from behind his window curtains, but she just minds her own business and keeps right on walking.

When asked why she does this, Sally simply responds: I am turning a “Good Friday” moment” into an “Easter Sunday life giving one.” Evidently in his Easter homily, Father Bill, her pastor, suggested that we keep Easter alive by doing acts of kindness in the face of any meanness we meet. In this way we are helping Jesus repair a broken world.  And Father Bill insisted that Jesus wants our help. “because when we do these little acts of kindness, we turn a Good Friday Moment into an Easter Sunday life giving one. “

Now we were not present to hear Fr Bill’s homily on that Easter Sunday, but we know that Sally was.   Maybe we can help Sally help Jesus, by finding our own Mr. Grumpy’s- and giving them an Easter Sunday Life Giving Moment. It’s worth a try!