John 20:19-31
Easter rabbits jumping around everywhere. (By the way, rabbits don’t lay eggs.) Spring flowers are blooming. School will soon be out and we are getting ready for a relaxing summer.
However, we are still in the Easter Season. Frankly, Easter is all year long—all the time—every day. We are people of the Resurrection with a firm belief in eternal life, otherwise we would not be here. Easter is not about one day on the calendar; rather, Easter is how we live, especially when we have to face disappointments, when death touches our family, the occasions when we are not in control. Just like the first disciples we might be tempted to hide behind locked doors. Usually we hide when we sin, make mistakes, or are running away from a reality inside of us. Hiding in addictions has become popular. We can surround ourselves with gadgets in order not to speak with others, especially the people who challenge us. Some of us will try to hide from God, like playing hide-and-go-seek. God comes looking for us, even behind closed doors. People have been heard to say, “I have not prayed, I never think about God, I haven’t gone to Church in a long time.” In spite of our stupidities, God breaks through the walls of our heart and says, “Peace be with you.” If the resentment level has pilled up so high, we might not allow ourselves to hear the voice of forgiveness. Remember that the only person that we have the power to change is our self. In order to announce the Good News of the Resurrection we have to look like Good News. The first step in Evangelization starts in the mirror. That’s what the disciples had to do. They first had to forgive themselves for running away when Jesus need them. They had to accept the fact that they were afraid of dying. Then they had to get out and tell everyone about the Risen Lord.
There are no short cuts. Good Friday comes before Easter. The Passion is intimately connected to the empty tomb. Denial of the cross is diabolical. Jesus called St. Peter Satan when he tried to convince Jesus to avoid death. Many people stopped following the Lord when He announced that the way to freedom was through the cross. No one looks for pain. Yet, we know that pain is part of every life. When given a choice we will all try to avoid the cross. But sometimes there is no choice. We do not have to be afraid.
To doubt is normal, part of being human because we do not have all the answers. Doubting can even be healthy. St. Thomas is labeled as the doubting disciple. He was called Didymus, meaning twin. Each of us is the other twin, since we have all doubted. The ones who saw the Resurrected Christ also doubted, even after they saw Him. To doubt is not a sin, as long as we do not remain in doubt. “Put your finger here, bring your hand, do not be unbelieving, but believe.” We walk by faith, not by proof. We can reach out and touch our family, the poor, the Eucharist. Christ is truly present all around us—He’s not an illusion, not a ghost, not just a symbol—but flesh and blood. Once we are convinced of the love of God for us, regardless of our past, then there’s no stopping us from announcing the Good News of Resurrection. When we are convinced that God loves us right now—with our inadequacies, then we can see the goodness in others, beginning with our family. Indeed, what we most dislike in others is what we dislike in ourselves. Time to make peace, to accept God’s peace. Time to get out from behind looked doors. Freedom is waiting.
Jesus Christ is alive. We want to give witness that He is alive in our person by the way we treat each other.
Easter rabbits jumping around everywhere. (By the way, rabbits don’t lay eggs.) Spring flowers are blooming. School will soon be out and we are getting ready for a relaxing summer.
However, we are still in the Easter Season. Frankly, Easter is all year long—all the time—every day. We are people of the Resurrection with a firm belief in eternal life, otherwise we would not be here. Easter is not about one day on the calendar; rather, Easter is how we live, especially when we have to face disappointments, when death touches our family, the occasions when we are not in control. Just like the first disciples we might be tempted to hide behind locked doors. Usually we hide when we sin, make mistakes, or are running away from a reality inside of us. Hiding in addictions has become popular. We can surround ourselves with gadgets in order not to speak with others, especially the people who challenge us. Some of us will try to hide from God, like playing hide-and-go-seek. God comes looking for us, even behind closed doors. People have been heard to say, “I have not prayed, I never think about God, I haven’t gone to Church in a long time.” In spite of our stupidities, God breaks through the walls of our heart and says, “Peace be with you.” If the resentment level has pilled up so high, we might not allow ourselves to hear the voice of forgiveness. Remember that the only person that we have the power to change is our self. In order to announce the Good News of the Resurrection we have to look like Good News. The first step in Evangelization starts in the mirror. That’s what the disciples had to do. They first had to forgive themselves for running away when Jesus need them. They had to accept the fact that they were afraid of dying. Then they had to get out and tell everyone about the Risen Lord.
There are no short cuts. Good Friday comes before Easter. The Passion is intimately connected to the empty tomb. Denial of the cross is diabolical. Jesus called St. Peter Satan when he tried to convince Jesus to avoid death. Many people stopped following the Lord when He announced that the way to freedom was through the cross. No one looks for pain. Yet, we know that pain is part of every life. When given a choice we will all try to avoid the cross. But sometimes there is no choice. We do not have to be afraid.
To doubt is normal, part of being human because we do not have all the answers. Doubting can even be healthy. St. Thomas is labeled as the doubting disciple. He was called Didymus, meaning twin. Each of us is the other twin, since we have all doubted. The ones who saw the Resurrected Christ also doubted, even after they saw Him. To doubt is not a sin, as long as we do not remain in doubt. “Put your finger here, bring your hand, do not be unbelieving, but believe.” We walk by faith, not by proof. We can reach out and touch our family, the poor, the Eucharist. Christ is truly present all around us—He’s not an illusion, not a ghost, not just a symbol—but flesh and blood. Once we are convinced of the love of God for us, regardless of our past, then there’s no stopping us from announcing the Good News of Resurrection. When we are convinced that God loves us right now—with our inadequacies, then we can see the goodness in others, beginning with our family. Indeed, what we most dislike in others is what we dislike in ourselves. Time to make peace, to accept God’s peace. Time to get out from behind looked doors. Freedom is waiting.
Jesus Christ is alive. We want to give witness that He is alive in our person by the way we treat each other.
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