2nd Sunday of Easter
READING 1:
Acts 4:32 -35
Psalm
118 READING 2: 1 John 5:1-6 GOSPEL: John 20:19-31
A very angry woman approached the receptionist’s desk at the ophthalmologist’s office. “Someone stole my wig while I was having surgery yesterday,” she complained. The doctor came out and tried to calm her down. “I assure you that no one on my staff would have done such a thing. Why do you think it was taken here?” “Well, “she huffed, “after the operation I noticed that the wig I had on was ugly and cheap looking.” The surgeon said gently, “Ma’am, I think that means that your cataract operation was a success.” This week’s gospel takes place a whole week after Peter and John had raced to the tomb, Mary Magdalene had seen the Lord and heard his voice call her lovingly and tell her not to cling to him, the disciples had returned from Emmaus having recognized Him in the breaking of the bread, and he had appeared in this very room. So, what were the disciples still doing all locked up? It wasn’t just Thomas who was a doubter; the entire group was still up in that room. I’d like to suggest, they expected Jesus to pick up right where he left off, telling them everything they needed to do, handling all the miracles and big talks, sparing with the Pharisees and priests and scribes, clearing the Temple of the money changers. If things continued as they were, the Christian movement would never have happened! What was needed was an entirely new vision. Do you think this ever happens to you? Couples in love decide to marry. All of a sudden, going to family weddings is a mission. They are getting ideas, scrutinizing menus, checking out the bars, noticing the limos, trying to work out how many and who will be in their wedding. They come for marriage prep sometimes thinking we are talking about picking dates and music. They (with varying degrees of enthusiasm) try to fit their appointments with the priest, the counselors, and the engaged encounter between the caterers, the photographers, the florists, and the dress fittings and guess who has priority! Their lives are jam packed with school or work, wedding preparations and friends and family and some time together. They spend much of their time together talking about the big event. I am not being critical; reality just is what it is. But after the big day, the honeymoon, and the thanks yous, are past, they have to change their vision. Only then do they start to wonder if this teeth grinding is something new and temporary, whether their major is going to provide enough to support a family, how they are going to live and love another human being and let go of their fantasies. There is a huge shift in what newly married couples see as important after the newness wears off. My mother told me only recently that when she got married she couldn’t wait to have a baby. Her married sisters had babies; her married friends had babies; she wanted a baby. Finally, after two years of marriage she got pregnant with me, her first born. She was thrilled, but after I was born, when I was first put on her lap and she looked into my face she suddenly thought, “oh, my God, what am I supposed to do now!” She knew about changing diapers and all, of course, but she and my dad had no idea how they were going to handle the responsibility of raising a child. They had to change their vision. We could speak of other thing, like changing schools or choosing a college or graduate program; changing jobs, buying a new home. I am sure we could come up with many examples today. We set goals and reach them often to discover the real work is just beginning. The point I am trying to make is that Jesus bloodied a cross so that we might live the commandments to love God and neighbor in a new, more responsible way. This came as a shock to the apostles, seemed unbelievable to Thomas and, frankly, seems a bit incredible today. Christianity is a challenge to do something with our lives that is meaningful and purposeful. We Christians cannot live in a bubble, but rather we simply must live liberated from the closed, inward looking self to journey toward self giving and in that discover our true selves and our God. The needy need us. The first reading from Acts of the Apostles said they took care of one another so that there were no needy among them. That didn’t make anyone lazy; it made everyone invested to the extent they knew their lives were on the line in the persecutions and stayed the course. That easy, non-demanding, no-sacrifice let the other guy do it, let Jesus do it mentality locks people into rooms without exits. It doesn’t work in marriages, it doesn’t work in parenting and it doesn’t work in Christianity. Ironically nothing that brings us love comes without our reaching out to another. The disciples had to discover a new vision for their lives. When they looked back they saw themselves just as the woman saw herself in that wig. But they didn’t die that way. They stepped out of that room and we are here two thousand years later to celebrate our own resurrection experiences in perspective. Now is the time to begin to see our own vision of our future and leave the locked rooms and find ways and means to spread the Good News! Fr. Jeff McGowan |
