2nd Sunday of Easter
Called to share our faith and life with others! Our faith makes us a ne creation.
Suppose you are called up to the altar and blindfolded you. Suppose we placed a water bucket and asked you if it was empty or full. What are the three ways you can answer the question without removing the blindfold.
1. One way is to reach into the bucket and feel if there is water. This way of learning is called experiencing.
2. A second way to learn if the bucket contains water or not is to drop an object like a coin or stone. If the objects hits the bottom with a loud voice you know the bucket is empty or if there is water, there will be splash. This way of learning is called reasoning.
3. The Third way to learn if the bucket contains water is to ask someone you trust. He looks and says if there is water or not. This method of learning called believing.
Experiencing, reasoning and believing are the three ways we acquire knowledge. Among these three the most important and the right way of learning is believing.
Today’s readings tell us much about the Christian community immediately following the resurrection. The first reading, in particular, is an account of the success of the early Christian community. Even though they were persecuted, the Acts of the Apostles tells us that “The Company of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had everything in common. And every day the Lord added to their number those who were saved.” There were two reasons for their success. First, the community, their witness of love, unity and devotion lead more and more people to the community. They shared their faith with the people. Second, the power of the risen Christ was alive in their midst. In the various resurrection appearances, as in today’s gospel reading, Jesus was not merely giving a demonstration of his new status as the risen Lord. Rather, Jesus, just as before his death, went about the task of building up his community of disciples by giving them a new framework within which to live life
In today’s gospel reading, John’s tells us that Jesus appeared to the disciples and breathed the Holy Spirit upon them (Jn 20 19). This is no small detail. The image of Jesus breathing on the disciples is meant to take us back to the book of Genesis. The account of the creation of the first man and woman is very similar. God created human beings from clay. And the book of Genesis tells us that the images did not have life. Then God breathed into their nostrils the breath of life and the clay images became living beings (Gen 2:7). In describing Jesus as “breathing” upon the disciples is John’s way of saying that Jesus was beginning is a new creation. Just like the first creation began with two people, the new creation too begins with just a few people. Just as the first man and woman were sent forth by God to go and multiply, the disciples are sent forth by Jesus. “Just the Father sent me, so I send you,” Jesus says to them (Jn 20:21).
From this small community of disciples will begin a new world order. From this group will begin a new way of being. From this group will begin the church - the community of those who believe in Jesus. As I said earlier, it is my conviction that Jesus was not merely making an appearance, but rather, he was giving the disciples, individually and as a community, a new framework within which to live life. And also the story of Thomas who insisted on experiencing the lord, but when the Lord appeared to him he just believed. He went to different places for sharing the life with others.
I would like to draw three implications of Jesus’ action for us as individuals, as families and as a parish community.
1. Individual – Some months back I was listening to a program on National Public Radio that discussed a report on how young people’s maturity into adulthood was being delayed. Some of the signs of this lack of maturity were bad choice of marriage partners, uncertain career decisions, continuing dependence on parents, grandparents parenting their grand children, the inability to maintain a good credit history and early break up of marriages. Blame it on video games, blame it on peer pressure, blame it on television, my own interpretation of the situation is that more and more individuals lack a “frame of reference” that helps them into adulthood. There is no one single framework that guides these young people. Even from other adults they get shallow frame of reference – how good one looks, how much one owns, how much money one can make, etc. For a Christian, Jesus gives the most meaningful framework: “Just as the Father sent me, so I send you.” This is not an invitation for all of us to become priests and nuns. Rather it is an invitation to develop “a Christian frame of reference” for our life as individuals. It is an invitation to develop a Christian framework within which to live one’s life. In other words, my life must be led and guided by Christ and his values. That is the only framework that leads us to contentment, stability, and meaning.
2. Family – Some time back a rather tragic incident shocked many and perhaps all of us. A young girl from a local school carried a baby for nine months, gave birth to it alone, and lost the baby, while not one person knew anything about it. Apart from the tragedy of one life lost, the story of this girl is itself very sad. Everything points back to a traumatic home environment. Whereas in today’s reading there is no direct reference to the human family, the implications of Jesus’ actions are clear for families as well. Every family needs a Christian framework that unites the family. Not having a Christian framework leads to dysfunctional families and sometimes, tragic consequences. Jesus and his words in the scriptures provide us a framework that can lead our families to a common vision, a common goal and purpose. The framework can be as simple as faithfulness, peace, or loving each other like God loves us. Such simple framework instilled in children from an early age and lived out in the lives of parents is a great way to make families, as Vatican II calls it, a “domestic church.” The worst thing for a family is to have no single Christian framework that ties them together. If the father’s main motive is paying bills, if the mother’s main motive is taking kids from one event to another, if the children’s motive is sports or school, the family is going to fall apart, although everyone means well. There must be something deeper, something more meaningful to keep the family together. The suggestion that today’s scripture is making is, “Jesus and his teachings offer us a viable framework.”
3. Community – Today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles is a good example of a community that lives within the framework that Jesus provides. Moved by the exemplary life-style of the Christian community, people were rushing to become Christians, even though it meant risking their lives. Now, imagine this – a waiting list in every church here in Lima of people wanting to join. Instead, if we look at the statistics of the last ten years, the numbers show a steady decline. Some put the blame of the child abuse crisis, some blame the structure of the church, some put the blame on the reforms of Vatican II, other think the reforms of Vatican II have not been implemented, the liberals blame the conservatives and the conservatives blame the liberals. There is plenty of blame to go around. Rather, my suggestion is that each of us puts this question to our own selves: are people who come in contact with me, inclined to ask figure out that I am a Christian? Does my witness incline them to ask about my church? Does my life witness point people to Christ? Together as pastor and people our lives and our church must be a beacon of hope for those around us. To the extent we fail in this, we fail the risen Christ.
The same Holy Spirit that Jesus breathed on the disciples, Christ will now breathe upon the bread and wine and upon each one of us. Let us allow God to make us into a new creation. And as we receive the body and blood of Jesus, let us pray that that as individuals, as families and as a parish we will become witnesses to the power of the risen Christ in and among us. Amen.
