"Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
My brothers and sisters, this Sunday we welcome a gospel full of elements relevant to our religious life.
But before I say a few words about the Gospel you are probably wondering why the heck Father Sam is wearing a Mario hat?
The 2nd Sunday of Easter is known by many names in the Anglican Communion: The Octave of Easter, The Low Sunday, the Sunday of Thomas, The Quasimodo Sunday, and, in other churches it’s also known as the Risus Paschalis Sunday which is the origin of the tradition of Silly Hats. Risus Paschalis means ‘Easter Laugh’. It is very ancient theology rooted in the sermons of early church theologians (like St. Augustine, St. Gregory of Nyssa, and St. John Chrysostom) that God played a practical joke on the devil by raising Jesus from the dead.
The tradition of telling religious jokes on the 2nd Sunday of Easter comes from Bavaria in the fifteenth century. The priest would insert in his sermon funny stories that would cause his parishioners to laugh, for example, a description of how the devil tries to keep the doors of hell locked against the descending Christ.
The Gospel tells us about one of the first appearances of Jesus after his Resurrection. Until that event only a few women in the group were living in joy knowing the certainty of victory of life over death because they have seen the empty tomb. We can imagine the uneasiness among the group: on one side are those who followed the tragic death of their master, and on the other side those few who found an empty tomb.
The Gospel for today reveals how the first Christian community was dealing with their faith: the disciples were afraid, they were meeting in a place with locked doors; then Jesus appears in the middle of the group. This risen Jesus evokes not only PEACE, but a new spirit in the community. With this new feeling within them, they are called to open the doors and announce everything they saw. But today's Gospel does not stop there, it tells us the story of Thomas.
Thomas symbolizes those who do not believe in the testimony of the community and require a particular experience to believe. But Jesus reveals himself to Thomas in the community. He is living with the fear that everything he knew about God has changed, and now the community is telling different experiences about his Rabbi, Jesus the Nazarene.
The truth in today’s Gospel is that all future generations will know the power of the resurrection of Jesus through the witness of the community.
Through the year we are called to live our faith following the steps of Jesus and his disciples. The “community” is the heart through which faith pulses.
New models of spirituality are offered in our days, and some reaffirm a spirituality rooted in individualism. Yes, you can do it by yourself, but the New Testament several times remind us of the importance of the community.
The Early church would have never existed if each new convert had kept their spirituality to themselves. Instead they came together for prayer, to break bread, to give thanks to God, and also through service to others.
The religious experience has to be shared in community through prayer and sacraments, then after feeding your heart with the Good News of Christ you go to the world sharing the Good News with others.
There is a Parable from a monastery that shows us the importance of the church community. The Parable of the Coal:
Once upon a time a new member of a religious order rediscovered his faith through his monastery. He kept coming for several months and he was filled with joy. His presence was transforming the lives of others in the community.
He was so happy that he began to forget God. His social life became so busy that he stopped coming to his religious community and everybody was missing his presence.
Concerned by his spiritual life, the abbot of the monastery went to visit the man. When the man opened his front door he thought: Oh no. The abbot will admonish me for my absence in the life of the community.
The man invited the abbot to come in and sit by the fireplace. Sitting there in silence the abbot started to pray: “Heavenly Father, bless me to know what to say.” In that moment the fire popped again and the abbot noticed red, hot coal shooting out. Some pieces landed next to another piece of coal which was now cooled and black, and then it hit him. A story came into his mind and he knew God had answered his prayer.
Then he pointed to the dark black coal, and said to the man, “this coal is like you. It’s been out of the fire for some time now and it’s cold and dead. I can pick it up and move it wherever I want it to go. However, there is only one place where this coal will find life again; life that will outshine our darkness. And he threw the cold coal back into the fire, and within a few moments it was burning bright red.
In that moment, the man knew what the message. The abbot wasn’t upset about his absence in the church; he was concerned about the man’s spiritual life. When you are away from your faith community you are like the cold coal, without life, real life. The fire that brings life and light comes through the blessing of the Holy Spirit in the life of the community.
The ‘Beloved community’ is the place where we renew our Baptismal vows, where we are sustained by the sacraments and the place to serve others with humble hearts.
Now in the story we find Jesus also talking to churches in our days. He says: "As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
Like the first church communities, sometimes we find ourselves with fear, broken, confused, disenfranchised, hidden in places with locked doors. Without enough faith to transform our own community, or families or neighborhood.
The experience of Resurrection tells us that everything is possible. It is possible to be strong and alive again. My question for you today is how can St. James become stronger in numbers and also in Mission? Don’t we share with friends and families about good movies we watch or good experiences in new restaurants where we have been? Why not tell others about our experience with God here in this sacred house?
The church is a place where we meet God and see God in others. And Jesus is clear that the faith experience is to be shared with others. Church is a community of love, and when you love you share that love.
In 1 John 4:18 we hear,
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.”
Thomas left the community because of fear, but in returning and seeing the face of Christ he returned to find the love of God.
Credits:
Created with images by Choat - "Ascension day concept: The scars In the hands of Jesus Christ over tombstone sunrise background" • robynmac - "Open Bible", and photo of Church of England procession by Susan Jones.