Jn. 20: 19-31
Jesus has risen, and on this Sunday after the resurrection, Jesus appears to his apostles in an upper room. He had appeared to individuals, such as Mary in the garden, and the two disciples walking down to Emmaus. But today Jesus chooses a communal forum during which to appear to his chosen band. Why? Because he knew that if his work was to carry on, it would go on through the efforts of a community.
The Acts of the Apostles book is featured during this Easter season because it shows us how the community Jesus came to set up is to function. The first thing the followers of Jesus did in community was to study the Sacred Scriptures. That was their only staff on which to lean now that Jesus was gone. They came to realize that the Scriptures contained Jesus, were, in fact, another way of basking in the presence of their risen Lord.
The second thing the early Church did was to live a common life, live in community. They were so given over to this that they held everything in common. Today we associate many monasteries and convents as doing this. Since the early Christian community was initially so small in numbers, they needed one another’s support. Staying apart from the community could be dangerous, as we see in today’s example of St. Thomas.
St. Thomas, for whatever reason, was not with the apostles the first time Jesus appeared after his resurrection. As a result, Thomas refused to believe that Jesus had appeared. We see how mercifully Jesus handled Thomas in today’s gospel. But we shudder to think that Thomas, by separating himself from the community, ran the risk of going off on his own and becoming separated from the faith community.
Making it a point to come together in community as we do every Sunday is very important. Here we listen to the word of God spoken to us, we come into contact with each other, all believers in Jesus and forming the members of his church. We need this support, because it leads to the third most important way the community helps us, and that is, the Holy Eucharist.
We come together to celebrate the Eucharist, the most important sacrament we have. In this sacrament we renew the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary and hear him tell us “Do this in remembrance of me.” This means that just as Jesus died for us, we are to die to ourselves for one another. We are to do this by forgiving, if necessary. We do this by serving one another. Later we will see how the early Church set up the ministry of deacons to see that all in the community were served equally.
Finally, the fourth mark of community as we read in today’s Acts of the Apostles is prayer. The community prayed together as we are doing today. Prayer in community is important because Jesus stressed prayer in community while he was on earth. We remember the Last Supper; we could not even imagine the Last Supper if Jesus had been alone. No, his prayer at the last, that beautiful long Priestly Prayer Jesus prayed as we see in John’s gospel, could only have been prayed in the midst of the community for whom Jesus was praying.
These four marks – study, community, Eucharist and prayer – are the cornerstone not only of the early church but must also be of our church community. We might check them out again to see how we are doing.
Study. Do you read the Holy Scripture at least once a day, meditate on it, ask God to show you what he is telling you in it? We have a lot of time for other things: TV, newspapers, surfing the computer, movies, sports, bowling, dancing, fishing … all good and fine. But we must make it a point not to omit the most important of these, and that is the study of the word of God.
Have you ever thought of joining your parish scripture study group? We meet once a week to read over the lessons for the coming Sunday and then to discuss them. We give some background about them and ask what God is saying in these lessons; then, what is he saying to us, you and me, in particular?
There are many good scripture commentaries out, one of the best by a man called Barclay. Also many good spiritual reading books are out there by such authors as Max Lucado and Tony Campolo. We need to immerse ourselves in the thinking of such writers. Television gives us our fix on violence, sex and consumerism. But where do we get our spiritual hunger filled for Jesus and his word? In the Bible and spiritual reading books.
The community is our second need. Some people do not stay around to talk to other members after Mass, or before Mass. They leave so quickly you wonder if they were beeped about their house being on fire. Our Sunday Mass is not just a liturgical meeting between you and Jesus and nobody else. You have a whole community of people here. How many of them do you know? How often do you put yourself out to get to know your community? Do you volunteer to help out with potlucks, fried fish dinners, serve as lector or eucharistic minister or usher?
I ask people if they came to the funeral of a member of the parish and they often retort, “Oh, I didn’t know him, Father. He must have gone to a different Sunday Mass than me.” Well, maybe you can mix up the Masses you go to on Sunday and try a different hour of Mass just to get to know other of your fellow parishioners. Or you might simply come to every funeral in the parish whether you knew the person or not. He or she was still your brother and/or sister in Christ.
The Holy Eucharist is the third mark whereby the early Christian community was known. I hope you are devoted to the Holy Eucharist, the Mass, and would not easily dismiss your obligation to attend weekly Mass. It is here that we meet as community to worship the head of the Mystical Body, Jesus, who gave his life for us, and we pray for the strength to do the same for our brothers and sisters.
- In the TV series, “Everybody Loves Raymond,” Raymond was not going to Sunday Mass and the family was on his case. In frustration, Raymond asked his wife, Debra, why she went to Mass and she said, “Well, I need the rest, to be with the Lord and … to thank him for getting me through the week, and to ask him to watch out for and bless you and the family … and to help me get through the next week.”
The final element of community is prayer. Of course, the Mass, the Holy Eucharist, is the perfect prayer, for in it we give back to and offer up to the Father the very Son he gave to suffer and die for us. Prayer in common, such as the Mass is, is a powerful prayer, for it is Jesus gathered as head with his body, the church, once more praying for the whole church as he did at he Last Supper in his Priestly Prayer.
I hope you pray at home and often during the day. Lay people, as well as monks, are called to the contemplative life. That means you should always be trying to live in the presence of God and to be in contact with him by prayer. There are many ways of doing this. One is the prayer of centering. Another is praying in a group.
In our weekly prayer meeting we use the group prayer. We use conversational prayer, addressing Jesus as if he were sitting right in our midst, for he is, and holding up to him our needs and petitions, people for whom we pray for healing. We worship Jesus and the Father and Holy Spirit in our prayer. If you have never had the experience of praying with others, I think you will find it powerful. Husband and wife can and should pray out loud with each other, holding hands at the kitchen table and just talking to the Lord, asking him to bless their family. The whole family can engage in this kind of prayer at the evening meal or later on before the kids go to bed.
Sometimes we forget how good we have it. Prayer is the time to thank God for our blessings. Sometimes it takes a crisis to renew our focus.
- Marion, a well-established suburban woman agrees. She says: “I had everything” – a devoted husband, two healthy children, work
I enjoyed, financial security, family and friends. When she was diagnosed
with cervical cancer she fell apart. “I never imagined life could be so
hard. … And I played the victim.” She felt so overwhelmed by the experience
that she lost not just her health, but also her marriage, her job and most
of all her trust in God and in herself. She was wallowing in self-pity. When
the bill collectors came to the door she was ready to give up.
One day as she was cooking a pot of macaroni and cheese she was so engrossed in her tragic circumstances that she burnt the macaroni. Feeling overcome with her own inadequacy, she was going to throw it out when her little boy looked at her and said, “Mom, only the bottom is burnt; the top is still good.” Those words from her son were so full of wisdom and compassion that they transformed her whole perspective. She suddenly realized that she was allowing this crisis to paralyze her life and that of her sons. She thought: ”I am still a competent, creative woman. ... Courage is an option.”
Placing herself in the presence of God she pulled herself together and went back to work. Today, the owner of four award winning car dealerships she generously contributes to others in need. She acknowledges that her health crisis was a catalyst, which awakened her compassion for others and restored her faith in God, in life an in herself. [i] - “A father tells the story of his young daughter who was blessed with
beautiful long golden hair. She received many compliments and was grateful
for her gift. But when she learned that the cancer society was asking for
human hair to make wigs for those patients who had lost all their hair after
chemotherapy, she cut off her hair to share it with those in need.
“’My hair will grow back,’ she assured her father.”[ii]
If we are one of those people who wake up in the morning feeling sorry for yourselves, perhaps it would be helpful to consider some of the alternatives that columnist John Slinger brings to our attention. He encourages us to see beyond our own preoccupations when he says:
- “Take a look around. If you wake up in the morning with more good health
than illness –you are more blessed than a million who will not survive the
day.
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in this world.
If you can attend church without fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are more bless than three billion people in this world.
If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep you are richer than 75 per cent of people in this world.
If you have money in the bank, in your wallet and spare change in your pocket you are among the top eight percent of the world’s wealthy.
If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because many can, but some do not.” [iii]
[i] “Crisis as catalyst,” Homily Hints, outline 1643, Second Sunday of
Easter – Year A, April 87, 2002; Issue 812 (Capsulated Communications Ltd.
Dept. #770, Box 34069, Seattle WA, U.S.A. 98124) April 2002.
[ii] Ibid.
[iii] Ibid. Canadian Snowbird Association -- 01
(Comments to Jerry at padre@tri-lakes.net. Jerry's book, Stories For All Seasons, is available at a discount through the Homiletic Resource Center.)