Easter anyone?
Today's post is a little long - I had the privilege of sharing the homily at Church and wanted to share my text in it's entirety:
Last weekend I attended an Easter sunrise service with my family. The preacher told some great stories and had good energy about spreading the Gospel. However, he preached about the events of Jesus’ last days, beginning with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem right up to Jesus’ death at the hands of others. He stopped at Holy Saturday – that empty space in time between death and resurrection. He told us that of course we live most of our lives in Good Fridays and Holy Saturdays and didn’t move us to those Easter morning experiences we have all had. I left feeling somewhat empty or unfulfilled.
As Christians we know we are living in the reign of God and we also know we are not. Theologians refer to this as being about the reign of God already and not yet. For me, this mystery is most evident in readings of these days of the Easter Octave. We read from the Acts of the Apostles of the many ways the community came together and took care of one another and shared every resource and gift, especially mindful of those most in need. The picture painted by the writer is one of deep Gospel living; a harmony of care and concern like no other. If you are like me, you read these passages or hear them proclaimed and are swept away in the possibility they offer us. These descriptions help us to imagine the reign of God already here right now!
At the same time, just this week in the news we are reminded that we are still quite far from God’s reign. There is violence continuing in war torn countries, city streets in our own country and beyond. The state of Arkansas resumed the practice of capital punishment with the execution of Ledell Lee, the first in 12 years.
In our smaller, more personal circles, we can all cite examples of people we know and love struggling with pain, sorrow, violence, separation, job loss or underemployment. We experience people reacting to life from a place of self-centeredness and suspicion as they interact with others. We have the experience of being in these darker places ourselves. We do not have to look very far to know that we still have much work to do as people charged with the building of the reign of God.
If pain, sorrow, violence, mistrust and selfishness are the symptoms of the failure/not yet of the Reign of God, what is the remedy? How can we best tap into the Easter spirit and allow it to course through our veins from our hearts to the heart of our world?
Thomas’ experience might hold some of the answer for us. I have always read the story of Thomas’ doubting spirit as weakness; that somehow he did not have enough faith to believe in the risen Jesus simply by listening to the experiences of his companions. However, Thomas was not trembling in the upper room alongside his friends when Jesus appeared. He had left the safety of that space and of those people perhaps out of curiosity; “Let’s see if these reports of the empty tomb are real,” “I wonder what the ‘word is on the street’ about this supposed ‘resurrection?’” I am certain Thomas was confused and frightened, yet curiosity took him out of his comfortable place to seek answers.
What does it take for us to “believe without seeing?” What do we need to “love without seeing”? Where are you on the Easter journey?
• Are you cowering in our “upper room” of fear, mistrust and confusion, paralyzed by the realities of our world?
• Have you embraced the Easter gifts of peace and the Holy Spirit, allowing yourself to move forward in grace to build the reign of God?
• Have you struck out on your own in search of evidence of resurrection, only to return to the relative safety of the upper room and your companions, to discover you missed the very proof you sought?
• Are you rejoicing with indescribable and glorious joy simply on faith?
Our world is wounded, suffering in so many ways. The body of Christ comes to us broken and bloodied. This is the “not yet” of our time. It is this reality which can overwhelm us at times, keeping us in “Holy Saturday” and filling us with doubt.
Jesus returned to the upper room and generously offered Thomas what he needed to believe and experience resurrection: “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe." Jesus offers the same to us.
As believers, we are a people deeply rooted in the resurrection. We have been gifted with the faith spoken of in the second reading. We are called to embrace the wounded Body of Christ and place our hands into the wounds. Sometimes this is what we need to remind us who we are and to ask God to strengthen our faith and give us what we need to overcome doubt, fear and mistrust. We face this truth and we respond to the call to be healers, reconcilers and bearers of the message of resurrection because we have lived through Good Friday and Holy Saturday.
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