May 1, 2011 SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER
1 MAY 2011, 5:15, 8:00, 10:30
READINGS: Acts 2:42-47; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31
SAINT MARY PARISH, VIROQUA
Introduction: Jesus is risen as he said, Alleluia!
1. Although, on that first Easter Sunday not everyone believed in his resurrection. Not even those who were his followers. The apostles were gathered in that same upper room where they had celebrated the Last Supper. They were frightened. Really, they were hiding. Suddenly, Jesus stood in their midst. “Peace be with you,” he said to them. He left unspoken the fact that they had all deserted him. “Peace be with you,” he said again. Thomas was absent. When they told Thomas about his appearance to them, he said those famous words, “I’ll never believe it without putting my fingers in his wounds, my hand into his side.” One week later Jesus appears to them again; this time Thomas is present. A third time Jesus says, “Peace be with you.” Thomas replies with the greatest professions of faith, “My Lord and my God.” John tells us that the name Thomas means Twin. Who was Thomas’ twin? In matters of doubt and faith I suspect we are his twins. All of us from time to time struggle with doubts, with faith.
2. Sometimes our faith is challenged by the sorrows and tragedies that come into our lives. Then, we need to turn to prayer, to the sacraments, to other believers for strength. Sometimes too our Faith is challenged by people in our Church who do not give us good example. A college girl said to her new roommate, “I respect your belief, but I find it hard to believe the Church is Christ’s Body when I see the way some Christians act.” The girl said, “I felt the same way until I remembered that I don’t find it hard to believe Beethoven is a genius when I hear the way some musicians play his music. Beethoven isn’t the problem; the musicians are. So, too the Church isn’t the problem; sometimes, its members are. We should do all we can to diminish that problem.
3. There’s an old saying that “Seeing is believing.” When Thomas saw Jesus, he came to believe. That phrase can also be turned around. “Believing is also seeing.” It is a new way of seeing. Atheists would say that believing is seeing something that isn’t there. That’s not true. Believing is seeing something real that unbelievers do not see. A father took his young son on a camping trip to the Adirondack Mountains in New York. To make the trip more enjoyable, he hired an experienced guide to go with them. The guide led them off the beaten trails and took them into the heart of the great forest. The boy was amazed at how the old guide spotted things that the ordinary person missed. One day, after the guide had been pointing out some hidden beauties in the forest, the boy exclaimed, “I’ll bet you can even see God out here!” The old guide relied, “Son, it’s getting hard for me to see anything else but God out here.” Just so, can we not see God in the sunset, hear him in the songbird, admire him in the face of our neighbor?
Conclusion: Thomas and the other apostles had a new vision after the Resurrection. In this Easter Season, we should remember that we are their twins. We too have a new vision; it is a faith that gives us sight of the Living God in our world.