Acts 5:12-16; Rev 1:9-19; JN 20:19-31
Do you remember the name, "Fred Snodgrass"? At the age of 23 he was a famous baseball player for the NY Giants' 1912 World Series Team. He died in 1974 when he was 85 years old. Fred had been a mayor of a city in California; he was a very successful rancher, as well as a banker, and he was a wonderful father. But what the New York Times headline printed about him was something else. It said, "Fred Snodgrass, 85, Dead. Baseball Player Muffed Flyball in 1912." You see, in the deciding game he dropped a pop fly; his error allowed the winning run to come home, costing the Giants the series. At the end of his life, what was remembered about him was his mistake that cost his team the World Series. (1) And I imagine he took a lot of ribbing from his friends over the years!
I can remember when I was a young child. If I would make a bad mistake or do something wrong, my parents would scold me for the inappropriate action. In fact, a good tongue-lashing was one of the gifts that my mother had. After the correction was over, however, my parents would never bring it up again, which was great!
But then there were my eight brothers and sisters, and my friends....they would never let me forget, because it was an occasion to tease me...
Remember the poem about "Casey at the Bat"? It was written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer, and ends like this:
- "Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville-- mighty Casey has struck out."
The only thing we remember about him is the fact that he struck out; he let his team down, and "there was no joy in Mudville." We remember the "mighty Casey" because he made a "mighty mistake," and the people of "mythical" Mudville will remember only that one fact.
How do you think President Clinton will be remembered by history?
How will YOU be remembered by your family and friends?
How do you remember the apostle, St. Thomas?
Sad to say, we remember St. Thomas by his mistake, too. At least we call it "a mistake."
Be honest: isn't that the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear today's gospel story, the label "Doubting Thomas"? We've all grown up hearing about "Doubting Thomas."
It is so easy to forget the other things we know about St. Thomas:
- (a) we forget that he was with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, and ran away in fear with
all the other apostles [MT 26:56].
(b) we forget that it was a very strong St. Thomas who said to the other apostles, "Let us go [to Jerusalem with him] and die with him" [Jn 11:16].
(c) we forget that Thomas is the very first person in St. John's gospel to make a Public act of faith in Christ's divinity!
Instead, all we remember about him is that he "Doubted."
So Thomas is not with his friends when they have their first experience of the Resurrected Christ. We don't know where he was; I guess that isn't important -- other than to suggest that maybe we can't resolve our doubts unless we gather together in community for mutual support and growth.
But the second time Jesus appears in the locked room, Thomas is there. Now, I like to wonder, even if only for a split-second, why Jesus didn't give them a tongue-lashing like I used to get as a kid when I goofed up.
- - Jesus could have scolded all of the disciples for deserting him at Gethsemane;
- Jesus could have scolded Peter for denying him three times;
- Jesus could have got on Thomas' case for doubting the word of the other eye-witnesses.
But Jesus didn't do any of that. He seemed to not even be aware of those past "mistakes" of his followers. In fact, he seemed to have a HOLY AMNESIA!
What we see instead is Jesus' Giving them his Peace (three times in today's Gospel).
We see Jesus Forgiving them by the mere fact of bestowing his Peace and his H.S. upon them.
We see Jesus Empowering them, AND US, to Forgive each other.
We see Jesus Empowering us to be just like him, to have a HOLY AMNESIA: to remember only the good in others, to Forgive the ugly, to Forget the mistakes and the Negatives.
It is so easy for us to get Trapped in our Attitudes towards others. This "trap" occurs every time we define other people by their real or their supposed mistakes. We identify them with only those isolated actions, not by their entire life. When we do that, we enter into the "land of negativity," failing to see that they, too, have been created in the image of God.
There is a wonderful group called "Women for Sobriety"; it is the first national self-help program for women alcoholics, and was established in 1976. There are hundreds of these self-help groups for women all across the USA.
The program is called the "New Life" program. It is based on what is called the "Thirteen Affirmations". I am very impressed with the program because it focuses on the 'positive', not the 'negative.' In fact, eliminating negativity from one's life is one of the most important parts of the program. For example, Affirmation #9 states that "the past is gone forever; no longer will I be victimized by the past; I am a new person." The emphasis is on getting rid of your guilt, rather than carrying it with you for the rest of your life.(2)
That is what Jesus is calling us to do today: to forgive, to bestow our peace on each other, to shed ourselves of our guilt.
When we exchange the "Sign of Peace" during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, that is what we are doing: forgiving, bestowing our peace on each other.
If you will recall, a few weeks' ago I reminded us that whenever we are reading St. John's Gospel, we need to read it like a "detective story" or "mystery story" -- John has clues hidden all the way through his gospel, and we just have to find them.
One of today's "clues" is that St. John calls Thomas "the Twin", without explanation. John never wastes words, so it must be there for a reason. I think that reason is that John wants us to recognize that WE are the twin of Thomas! Just like Thomas, WE have fears; WE have doubts; WE all want certainty in our lives. John's gospel is telling us, however, that we may always have doubts, and that's OK. But if we stay within the worshiping community, our doubts can be resolved by our mutual support and our mutual influence of faith and hope!
Do you remember the story in Chapter 32 of the Book of Genesis about Jacob wrestling with an angel? That story is about you and me also! Like Jacob, we "wrestle" constantly with moral and spiritual struggles; but if we persevere in trying to understand, we emerge from our struggles with a deeper faith and a stronger hope. And we increase that faith, right here in community! We grow in our faith by sharing God's word, by listening to the struggles and witness stories of our predecessors, our ancestors in faith! The important thing is that we recognize that we are "on the journey", just like our RCIA friends; and we definitely need the witness and discernment of others, as we journey.(3)
Finally, let's look at one last clue in St. John's gospel. Jesus has risen from the dead: he now has a glorified body, a new existence. So why did he get stuck with those terrible wounds showing in his resurrected state? Shouldn't he now have the 'perfect body'?
I think that St. John is telling us that whenever we see the Wounds of Christ today, we know that He is there. Do you want to know where to "see" the wounds of the Body of Christ?(4)
What we can "See" is the woundedness of those around us, telling us that the wounded Christ is present in others; and we are Challenged to bring healing, including the healing of forgiveness, and the peace and joy of the Risen Christ into that situation.
What we can "Touch" are the Wounds of those around us, challenging us to bring the love and compassion of the Risen Christ, of our Christian community, into that situation.
We have many ministries that you can join that do just that: our Hospital Visitation Ministry (day or night), Communion to Shut-Ins, Bread Basket ministry (meals for the homebound or sick), Funeral Luncheons ministry, Day House ministry, Bereavement ministry, and many, many others.
What we can "Hear" are our own words of Forgiveness, as we exercise the power that the Risen Christ gives us to Forgive others and Eliminate Guilt.
And if we need to "Hear" those words of forgiveness for our own improper thoughts, words, or deeds, then we have the Sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession to help us eliminate our guilt.
Our First Reading today from the Acts of Apostles provided us with examples of how the early
Christian Community spread their healing love, bringing healing to everyone in the name of the Risen Lord. You know, the apostles could have just as easily scolded the rest of the community for not believing in Jesus. But they didn't do that.
And I think that is the ultimate message, and the Very Good News, of the scripture readings today:
Jesus has shown us how to use "Holy Amnesia" by his very own example!
We don't want to forget that there is a direct link between the "Holy Amnesia" of Jesus, and the wonderful Gift that he bestows upon us: the Gift of being able to Forgive!
Jesus does not want his people, you and me, to be remembered by our mistakes. Rather, he wants us to be remembered by our Healing Love, by our Compassion, by our Forgiveness!
When we approach the Table of the Eucharist [gesture], the minister of the Eucharist will say to you, "The Body of Christ" and "The Blood of
Christ" and offer you the host and cup. You will respond: "Amen." Now what does that response really mean to you?
It should mean "Yes, I truly believe that this IS the body of Christ;
Yes, I truly believe that this IS the blood of Christ." Not just a symbol of his body and blood, but his actual body and blood. Jesus told his disciples, "This IS my body....this IS my blood..." And in today's Gospel, he gives us a special blessing:
"Blessed are they who have not seen and have believed."
Today Our Lord is calling us to be at Peace; to have a Holy Amnesia so that we can Forgive each other; to See his woundedness in others and respond to that with compassion; and above all to Believe in his continued presence among us, especially in his wounded ones. YOU are the eyes, and the ears, and the hands, and the mouth, of our Risen Savior!
Notes:
(1) "The Ascent of the Mountain of God" by Fr. Edw. Hays; Leavenworth: Forest of Peace Publishing, 1995, p.73.
(2) WFS, Inc.; PO Box 618, Quakertown, PA 18951-0618; (215) 536-8026
(3) "Telling Stories, Compelling Stories" by Wm. Bausch; Mystic: 23rd Publications, 1997, p. 114. Used with permission.
(4) Adapted from "Sunday by Sunday" by Shawn Madigan, CSJ; St. Paul: Sunday by Sunday, 1998.
Deacon Paul Rooney
Mary, Our Queen Parish
Omaha, Nebraska, USA
(Contact him at Deacon Paul's
Homepage)
"From the womb of the Washing Bowl, Jesus brought forth a new sacrament: it was the birth of ordination to servanthood" (Hays).