"Do not persist in your unbelief, but believe!"
For us Christians following the life commitment of Christ, it is not always that we are tiptop in our faith. There are times when we feel we don't believe this or that - anything in relation to what He says in the Gospel or how the Catholic church interprets His teaching in our contemporary times. And not only that, even in our prayer life, there are times when He seems "dead" to our senses - "dead" to our feelings - as if His presence was not anymore with us.
If we look at the Gospel this Sunday, we see Thomas who learned about the rising again of Jesus from his fellow apostles. His fellow apostles actually saw the Risen Lord while Thomas did not because he was not present when the Lord manifested His Risen Self to them. For Thomas, Jesus had died. He may not have died in Thomas' memory or in Thomas' heart, but it is a fact and reality Thomas knows. Now that Jesus had risen and manifested Himself to his fellow apostles, He could not believe it because He does not believe unless He really sees what his fellow apostles had seen. For Thomas, "seeing is believing", is his truth. But, Jesus, who always loved His apostles and never wanted anyone of them to be lost from Him, took the initiative to make Thomas believe. He appeared again to the apostolic band and Thomas was now present among them. Jesus told Thomas to put his hand on his wounds. And Jesus said, "Do not persist in your unbelief, but believe". And Thomas not only believed but he expressed it openly by saying, "My Lord and my God!"
We are all like Thomas in a certain degree or in one way or another. But since the Lord loves us and does not want any of those who follow Him and truly love Him be lost in faith, He will take the initiative to tell us in many ways, "Do not persist in your unbelief, but believe". In times when we feel depressed or discouraged or bogged down with so many problems and difficulties in life, these are the times when our faith gets really tested. Sometimes we are tempted not to believe anymore that the Lord is really with us - that He lives in us and cares for us. But we only need to express ourself to others and the Lord in prayer that if only we can "spiritually" see Him again in our life, we shall have faith in Him again and follow Him committedly. And true to His word, that He will not let anyone of those the Father had given Him be lost, He will manifest His love and concern and care for us in ways we will recognize - through ordinary human experiences - through a gesture of friendship, through a welcoming smile, through the help of a co-worker, through the kindness of many people, and through the constant companionship of our spouse and our children. We are even blessed than Thomas because even if we don't physically see the Lord, we believe in Him and we hope and trust in Him with our whole life.
Now that we are strengthened by those experiences wherein we feel the Lord's presence in our life, we are then called, like the apostles, to make known to others too that the Lord Jesus cares for them and would wish them to live life in all its fullness through an openness to His Spirit. It is a gift we need to share with others too - the Easter gift of new life and renewal and rebirth and a renewed faith and trust in Christ.
Sunday, April 03, 2005
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Easter Sunday, Cycle A
"He saw and believed"
In the gospel, we find three persons who were involved in that first resurrection account: Mary Magdalene, Peter and the beloved disciple. Three persons, three responses and reactions. Mary was worried because she found out that the stone had been moved away and concluded that the body of Jesus was taken away. Peter and the beloved disciple heard the report from Mary and went to the tomb also. Peter's response was one of observation. He wanted to know what happened. The beloved disciple's response was one of faith. He saw and believed.
What would be our response if we place ourselves in that resurrection scene with Mary, Peter and the beloved disciple. We can use our sense imagination to enter into that gospel scene and examine what we may feel about the situation. Would we be anxious like Mary? Or observe carefully like Peter? or would we respond simply in faith like the beloved disciple?
Perhaps we can make a spiritual exercise by entering the scene ourselves and letting ourselves also get involved in what is happening in the gospel scene. And let us pray that whatever fruit we may derive by our meditation may deepen our knowledge of the mystery of Christ's resurrection and gain a deeper understanding of how much He has shown His love for us by dying on the cross so that we may turn away from our sinfulness.
In the gospel, we find three persons who were involved in that first resurrection account: Mary Magdalene, Peter and the beloved disciple. Three persons, three responses and reactions. Mary was worried because she found out that the stone had been moved away and concluded that the body of Jesus was taken away. Peter and the beloved disciple heard the report from Mary and went to the tomb also. Peter's response was one of observation. He wanted to know what happened. The beloved disciple's response was one of faith. He saw and believed.
What would be our response if we place ourselves in that resurrection scene with Mary, Peter and the beloved disciple. We can use our sense imagination to enter into that gospel scene and examine what we may feel about the situation. Would we be anxious like Mary? Or observe carefully like Peter? or would we respond simply in faith like the beloved disciple?
Perhaps we can make a spiritual exercise by entering the scene ourselves and letting ourselves also get involved in what is happening in the gospel scene. And let us pray that whatever fruit we may derive by our meditation may deepen our knowledge of the mystery of Christ's resurrection and gain a deeper understanding of how much He has shown His love for us by dying on the cross so that we may turn away from our sinfulness.
Easter Sunday, Cycle A
"He saw and believed"
In the gospel we find three people who get involved in that resurrection scene of John 20:1-9. We first see Mary Magdalene who witnessed that the stone had been moved away and was worried that the body of Jesus was taken away by others. So she ran back to the apostles and reported it to them. Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved ran to the tomb to find out for themselves. We are told that the disciple whom Jesus loved arrived at the tomb first but did not enter. This was because he was young and his body was lighter and thus it was quite natural that he would outran Peter. When Peter arrived at the tomb, it was Peter who entered the tomb and saw the cloths of the Lord on the ground. Peter did not fear entering for we know he was a man who was close to the Lord in terms of authority. When the disciple whom Jesus loved saw Peter enter, he himself entered. And the gospel reports, "He saw and believed."
Three persons who were close to the scene of the resurrection. And three responses to it. Mary Magdalene's response was one of worry and anxiety. But she acted on her worry and informed the apostles. Of the apostles, it was Peter and the beloved disciple who responded to the 'problem' Mary presented to them. Peter courageously entered the tomb and saw the absence of the Lord's body and the evidence of the cloths being on the ground. If we imagine what Peter may have thought, we may surmise that he probably was puzzled as to what may have happened and the thought kept rolling over his head while he examined the cloths on the ground. But the main thing he did was to observe what was in the tomb of the resurrection itself. The beloved disciple on the other hand, "saw and believed". It was a simple response of faith.
Mary was worried. Peter observed. The beloved disciple believed.
Three responses to the resurrection of Jesus. What would have been our response if we too were part of the apostolic team and suddenly learn about the absence of Jesus' body in the tomb? Would we be worried like Mary and act in haste to solve the problem? Or would we 'examine and observe all the facts' and see what is in them like Peter? Or would we like John simply believe because of what we remember the Lord said to us that He would rise again? Maybe we can answer this question if we read again the gospel passage of John 20:1-9 and enter the scene of the gospel. Let us examine our own feelings as we place ourselves in the gospel scene. Do what I experience in entering the gospel passage by imagining myself in it close to Mary's, Peter's or John's reaction and response? Let us see for ourselves so that we may learn more about the mystery of the Lord's resurrection. And let us place ourselves in a prayerful attitude afterwards and thank the Lord that He had died for us and given us the blessing of a new life to live after all the misgivings we have caused Him.
In the gospel we find three people who get involved in that resurrection scene of John 20:1-9. We first see Mary Magdalene who witnessed that the stone had been moved away and was worried that the body of Jesus was taken away by others. So she ran back to the apostles and reported it to them. Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved ran to the tomb to find out for themselves. We are told that the disciple whom Jesus loved arrived at the tomb first but did not enter. This was because he was young and his body was lighter and thus it was quite natural that he would outran Peter. When Peter arrived at the tomb, it was Peter who entered the tomb and saw the cloths of the Lord on the ground. Peter did not fear entering for we know he was a man who was close to the Lord in terms of authority. When the disciple whom Jesus loved saw Peter enter, he himself entered. And the gospel reports, "He saw and believed."
Three persons who were close to the scene of the resurrection. And three responses to it. Mary Magdalene's response was one of worry and anxiety. But she acted on her worry and informed the apostles. Of the apostles, it was Peter and the beloved disciple who responded to the 'problem' Mary presented to them. Peter courageously entered the tomb and saw the absence of the Lord's body and the evidence of the cloths being on the ground. If we imagine what Peter may have thought, we may surmise that he probably was puzzled as to what may have happened and the thought kept rolling over his head while he examined the cloths on the ground. But the main thing he did was to observe what was in the tomb of the resurrection itself. The beloved disciple on the other hand, "saw and believed". It was a simple response of faith.
Mary was worried. Peter observed. The beloved disciple believed.
Three responses to the resurrection of Jesus. What would have been our response if we too were part of the apostolic team and suddenly learn about the absence of Jesus' body in the tomb? Would we be worried like Mary and act in haste to solve the problem? Or would we 'examine and observe all the facts' and see what is in them like Peter? Or would we like John simply believe because of what we remember the Lord said to us that He would rise again? Maybe we can answer this question if we read again the gospel passage of John 20:1-9 and enter the scene of the gospel. Let us examine our own feelings as we place ourselves in the gospel scene. Do what I experience in entering the gospel passage by imagining myself in it close to Mary's, Peter's or John's reaction and response? Let us see for ourselves so that we may learn more about the mystery of the Lord's resurrection. And let us place ourselves in a prayerful attitude afterwards and thank the Lord that He had died for us and given us the blessing of a new life to live after all the misgivings we have caused Him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)