April 8, 2018

Second Sunday of Easter Acts 4: 32-35; 1 John 5: 1-6; John 20: 19-31 Today’s image of the Apostle Thomas looms as one of the focal points in the Gospel. Why did John feel that this was an important event to include in his Gospel? The three evangelists tell of different resurrection appearances of Jesus but only John includes what happened when Jesus appeared to Thomas. It is good to go back and review what had happened. The very first words of the Gospel spells out John’s concern. “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews…” The apostles were afraid. No doubt they were afraid that the same thing that happened to Jesus would happen to them. They heard of the shouting crowd screaming for Jesus’ crucifixion. They had seen the horrible beatings and torture that the Roman soldiers had enjoyed giving to this condemned prisoner. The soldiers used their cruelty as a deterrent to future so-called Messiah’s. They spared nothing. The apostles were so frightened that they had all stayed together and locked themselves in the Upper Room. Would my faith have been shattered? Would I want to run but knew I could never escape the inevitable rage of the Roman soldiers and the Jews who were instigators of Jesus’ death? The big question: What does it take for me to believe? The disciples ran away, they left Jesus, abandoned Him. They doubted what He said, they had no faith in Him being their Messiah, they do doubt doubted themselves and their own religious faith and wondered if they would ever see their loved ones again. What to do now? And Jesus took it all in His hands. “Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.” What did His appearance mean to them? Jesus didn’t come in anger…He didn’t bawl them out…He didn’t ridicule them. He brought them into Himself. They experienced that they were loved. “Peace be with you.” What does that mean? It might be assumed that it is an ordinary greeting. It goes back to the Last Supper and Jesus. He starts off in the fourteenth chapter by saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me…” Then he goes on to explain how He will send the Holy Spirit to be with them and us constantly. The Spirit will lead us, inspire us, will help us say and do what is required to be people of love. Jesus continues this in John 14:27 , “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard Me tell you ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you love Me you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe.” Now they knew that they were reconciled with God. They felt this individually and also as a community of believers and Jesus gives them the gift of peace. Their faith was restored, centering on their love relationship with Jesus and with God. Luke describes this in today’s section from Acts of the Apostles by saying “The community of believers was of one heart and mind…with great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus… there was no needy person among them.” Peter and John had just been released from jail and they offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God. Today’s passage follows and it seems that the description of the Early Church was very idealistic. They were committed to prayer, listening to the Spirit’s promptings and responding to the care of others. Just as they have experienced reconciliation through Jesus they were now sent out to do and be the same to the world. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you…Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” All believers are called by God into forgiveness and are sent as reconcilers. When Jesus appeared to them in that locked room, the Apostles saw and believed. This wasn’t enough for Thomas, He needed more. He needed to touch Jesus in the same way that the early church people needed proof that they were loved. The Chinese proverb comes to play, “You give a poor man a fish and you feed him for a day. You teach him to fish and you give him an occupation that will feed him for a lifetime.” To embrace God’s gift of peace entails both the personal response of reconciliation and the social commitment to building communities of justice, peace, caring, forgiving that totally embrace love. People come to believe by observing how I act and how I live my faith. They know when and how I am living the command of love. They definitely know when I am not living love. When people encounter my love, coupled with my caring, forgiveness and compassion they encounter the deep peace that is God’s gift to us through Jesus. This isn’t easy. Thomas was no more a doubter than were the others. When he say what they had seen he was a rejoiced believer, “My Lord and My God.” Cardinal Joseph Bernadine was the Archbishop of Chicago. He died from pancreatic cancer. During his last years he grew so much stronger amid a string of traumatic events: a false accusation of sexual abuse; reconciliation later with his accuser who made up the charges. He wrote a book called A Gift of Peace detailing the last three years of his life. His words fit in perfectly today, “Through my spiritual journey I have struggled to become closer to God…One theme that rises to the surface more than any other takes one meaning for me now—the theme of letting go. To close the gap between what I am and what God wants of me, I must empty myself and let Jesus comes in and take over. I have prayed to understand His agenda for me. Some things stand out. He wants me to focus on the essentials of His message and way of life rather than on the accidentals that needlessly occupy so much of our time and efforts. One can easily distinguish essentials from peripherals in the spiritual life. Essentials ask us to give true witness and to love others more. Non essentials close us in on ourselves. It is unsettling to pray to be emptied of self; it seems a challenge almost beyond our reach as humans. But if we try, I have learned, God does most of the work I must simply let myself go in love and trust of the Lord. When the hand of God’s purpose enters my life, however, it is usually not from the front, as I have always expected but from the side, in murmurs and whispers and not only surprise but soon empty me beyond anything I could imagine.” So I reflect on: • How does my life show others the I have received the Holy Spirit? • What does it take for me to believe that my faith makes a difference? • Am I a reconciler? • Am I a peace builder? Sacred Space 2018 states: “Here we are shown twice how Jesus breaks into the lives of His friends. Can He break in on me? Where am I in these scenes? Am I hesitant like Thomas? Am I looking for some sign before committing myself to the fact that I am living in a new world, the world of the Resurrection? I let Jesus whisper to me, ‘You will be blessed if you decide to believe!’ To believe in Him is to give my heart to Him, not just my head. It is not too demanding to do this, because He has already given His heart to me,”