Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The Easter Triduum and Easter Sunday were really special this year. Let us all pray together that at least some will return soon to the Lord and to our parish, especially as we undergo our renovation in a few short months. How I hope we will be a beacon of light to our area and to the many families who live here. How much people suffer when they live without Jesus Christ; maybe it is becoming more obvious these days!
We start during the Season of Easter our new series of Face 2 Face since it is our aim to get to know the person of Jesus more deeply. And how do we do this you may ask, which is an excellent question? We get to know him through the Bible, through the inspired Scriptures. There is a like a skeleton of what he said, what he did and who he was. We the Scriptures are proclaimed it is and understood personally it is like the skeleton comes to life again. How beautiful!
Jesus was true leader, a very strong and attractive person at a time when people were completely disposable and treated as cattle. And he told them they were the light of the world and the salt of the earth; they lived in fear, oppression and violence, and in many ways it sounds like today. Crowds followed his magnetic personality. Wherever he went people experienced his love and mercy, and his power. He is not the meek and weak person as he is portrayed often today. He had enemies among the religious leaders and eventually they got their way and put him to death. The astonishing message is that he did not stay in the tomb, despite the guards and the money given to them to spread a falsehood; he rose and is alive and with us today. This separates him from any other person on earth.
We hear this week from a familiar gospel and it reminds us how scared the apostles must have been. They feared for their lives, and were also confused. He was dead for three days and then they hear that the body is missing. They are full of confusion, shame and guilt. And they have regrets about leaving him and not staying awake with him.
Perhaps you and I have also made mistakes that cost money or that damaged a relationship. You may have let someone down in a particularly bad moment when they needed help, or you were dishonest with a close friend or a spouse, and suddenly you were face to face unexpectedly with that person.
This is what happened to the apostles and Jesus knew exactly what to do and say. In the midst of their confusion he arrives through locked doors and says: Peace be with you! And he says it a second time to them and to us. The message from God is very simple: peace. He shows his hands (his wrists with the marks of the nails) and his side and proves to them that he is not a ghost and is really alive. He deals tenderly with them. No matter how much you have messed up Jesus Christ will believe in you, and wants to make you a follower, a disciple. Jesus says, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” He has more faith in you than you have in yourself. He breathes on them and gives them the Holy Spirit.
To drive the point home we see the apostle Thomas, who is everyman, you and me. What is your response when you see that someone does not trust you? Jesus is gracious and kind. He says put your hand here and believe. He helps Thomas to change, and to grow; he is not punished. Thomas makes a very big act of faith by saying, “My Lord and my God.” No other apostle makes such a strong statement about Jesus Christ.
When you have a real personal relationship with the Lord you change. You become his disciple. Jesus invites Thomas and us to put aside our unbelief, our doubts. He builds Thomas’ character. He eventually goes to preach the Gospel in India, and gives his life. Read one of the gospels during these days of Easter; meditate on it for a few minutes after you read it. Mark is the shortest; Matthew is the one you will hear this year on Sundays. Luke is very beautifully written and John is the deepest. Start anywhere and God will make himself known to you. He is the only one who can change you. He will give you his Spirit.