At the sight of Jesus, the disciples rejoiced with faith

John 20:19-31

"At the sight of the Lord the disciples rejoiced."

The faith experience of the disciples and Thomas is something all of us can relate with. Human like us, both had to rely on their physical senses. Thomas doubted at first, because his knowledge of Jesus, was the Jesus he knew that died on the Cross. Although Jesus had raised many people back to life, they still did not know in reality that Jesus Himself can really rise again in the power of the Holy Spirit. But Jesus did, and He made many appearances to His followers.

When Jesus appeared to His disciples, they rejoiced and believed. Thomas had not been with them in the Lord's first appearance. And so, he doubted. But when the Lord appeared again, and this time with Thomas present among his brethren, Thomas believed and exclaimed with reverent faith in Jesus as his Lord and God.

Upon reflection, we can see that there are two kinds of faith: one based on community experience, and one based on a personal experience. St. Thomas was being called to a more personal faith in Christ. When his doubts were removed by the Lord's appearance, St. Thomas responded with greater piety - not unlike our own faith response when we recognize God in the consecration during the Eucharist.

Examining our own faith responses, instead of pitting one's faith over another and contesting which faith is more real or genuine, we are called to integrate both. To accept the creative tension that exists between a communitarian faith experience and a personal faith experience. One cannot live without the other. Both are experienced in the social milieu. 

Faith is one of the theological virtues. It is rifely shown in many miracles of healings in the gospels. Here is a list of some of them: 

the Syrophoenician woman (Mk 7:24-30, Mt 15:21-28); 

the centurion's slave (Lk 7:1-10, Mt 8:5-13); 

the woman with a hemorrhage (Mt 9:20-22, Mk 5:25-34, Lk 8:43-48), 

All these make us see the personal expression of faith within the context of a believing community. 

Today, we live in very uncertain times. But we are called to live in these uncertain times with faith in Jesus. And to do so one day at a time. Faith in Jesus will dispel that which we are ignorant about. Faith in Jesus will heal all our doubts, and lead us to certainty of God's love for us.  So we are called to pray for this gift of faith everyday - in the very routines of life and work. And like Thomas, let us be humble so that Jesus may make Himself known to us - in His Word and Sacrament, and in the very communities we celebrate and remember the Lord. We should know in truth that God will do everything for us so that we may believe in Him, and follow His commandments, counsels and inspirations.

Christ lives again through our witness

John 20:1-9

It is Christ risen from the dead that inspires us to promote a culture of life.

If we read the gospels and use our imagination, we can picture in our imagination the excitement which the sight of the empty tomb did to three of Jesus' followers: Mary Magdalene, Peter and John. All three were moved to "run". First it was Mary Magdalene. After she saw the "stone moved away" at the tomb, she "ran" to Simon Peter and to John - reporting to them all that she saw. We can picture in our mind how she may have been short of breath, eyes brimming with apprehension, and with a heightened intensity in her voice. For the gospel notes her report to the apostles with exclamation marks! 

She told her story to the apostles. So, Simon Peter and John also "ran" to find out for themselves what happened. Although we know that Christ as risen, the three at that time did not know this yet. They did not fully understand all that the Lord was telling them while He was with them. 

Christ made it known in the gospel of John that He is the Resurrection and the Life.  This truth was backed up by His miracles. Example of these miracles were: the story of the widow of Nain's only son; Jairus' daughter; and the moving resurrection story of Martha and Mary's dead brother, Lazarus. Jesus did not only cure the sick, drive out demons, save His apostles from the storm, and feed a hungry multitudes. He brought the dead back to life. These miracles of life lead us to the Source of Life Himself: His Body and Blood - which had been given to all by His sacrifice on the Cross. His 
Body and Blood is now what we receive in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. By the power of His Risen body, we live again and are strengthened from all forms of "death" around us.

Christ lives again not only in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, but in the very witness of our lives, words and deeds. The work Jesus began, we in the Church continue. It is a work of mercy; it is a work of peace. Everyone in the Church is called to participate in this work and mission of Christ to promote life to the fullest - "from womb to tomb". What gives us strength in our witness is Christ Himself - in the Eucharist and in the communities we live and work in. The more we integrate our faith in the very routines and special events of our lives, the more we shall see and experience the life of Christ in us. And there will be special moments when we may be impelled by His Spirit to promote a culture of life and peace through simple acts of kindness, patience and generosity.

Prayer, vigilance & faith in God

Mark 14:1 - 15:47

In the Garden of Gethsemani, Jesus counseled Peter, James and John to pray & keep watch. This Passion Sunday, if we place ourselves in the scene of the gospel, we can feel that He gives this counsel also to us. For what happened to the three apostles can happen also to us: we may fail to be watchful and fall asleep. 

The gospel tells us what happened to Peter, James and John. When Jesus prayed in Gethsemani on the eve of His arrest, the three apostles did not listen to Jesus' counsel to stay awake. Instead, they followed their natural inclination - they slept. Jesus came from where He prayed, and came back to them finding them asleep. This happened three times. The three apostles did not know the importance of vigilance and watchfulness: virtues that can prevent faith in God from faltering. And so, since they were unprepared, when Jesus was arrested, they deserted Him and fled.

Jesus prayed intensely and deeply before entering into His Passion. He asks us to do the same this Holy Week:

to pray, 

to remain with Him, 

and to keep our souls awake. 

Traditional practices of the Lenten discipline are a great help. Ordinary acts of mortification and small sacrifices in the very contexts in which we live and work is what is called of us. We try to be more patient at work, kinder with others at home, or be more respectful to the people we meet on the street. It is not that difficult because Holy Week is just one week. It may be just the spiritual discipline and strength we need to get by for the rest of the year. So, whenever small things don't go right along the way, or something amiss happens, we do not fly off the handle easily and lose our patience. 

We need not depend only on our own strengths and intelligence in the practice and discipline of Holy Week. According to the wisdom of the Scriptures and "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas a Kempis, if we trust in ourselves more than we trust God, then when a time of testing comes, we may have not enough reserves of inner strength that only faith in God can give. So we add prayer, vigilance and faith in Jesus. These are what can make us strong - not only for ourselves, but for others too. Like Jesus, we will be "on solid ground", and not "shifting sand". Temptations may come - worries, anxieties, fear, uncertainties - but if we ground ourselves in the love of Jesus, we may overcome all these and continue to do what is good and right. Prayer and watchfulness (awareness) can deepen our faith and anchor us well in every storm of life.