Sunday 16 April 2023

The Examen

How have I lived out last week’s Gospel message? … What was tough? … What was rewarding?

The Call

Lord Jesus Christ, you made yourself known to the disciples after your resurrection and to Thomas amid his doubting, come and be known among us. Fill our darkness with your light and our doubt with your love, today and always. Amen.

The Gospel

John 20: 28 – 29

Thomas said, “My Master! My God!” Jesus said, “So, you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing”.

The Introduction

Throughout Easter Time when Jesus tells the disciples “Peace be with you,” Jesus does much more than calm the fears that emerge from encountering a friend who was dead just a few days ago. When Jesus says, “Peace to you,” Jesus tells his followers that anxiety, turmoil, and confusion cannot inhibit encountering and living the Resurrection. Living the Resurrection means living in hope. Living the Resurrection means knowing that sadness, sickness, and death never win, and that life and love always prevail. Living the Resurrection means building open community so to break down walls of prejudice, fear and indifference.

Today’s Gospel shows that the disciples continued to gather after Jesus died. Luke writes in the Acts of the Apostles that the early Christian community devoted themselves to fellowship, prayer, and the breaking of the bread. These communities were not formed because Christ died. Rather, these communities formed because Christ died and rose from the dead. Just like the early disciples, we are called to continue the work of the Resurrection in the same way.

Often we fail to encounter the Risen Lord and live the Resurrection. Like Thomas, we miss opportunities to grow in faith. We do not always use our lives to proclaim the Good News. Even so, we remember the peace Christ bestows on us and recognise we can continue to grow in life and love.

The Reflection

In the movie Henry Poole is Here, the sceptical and depressed protagonist finds himself surrounded by an oddball group of people who believe God is at work through a Jesus-shaped stain on his house. Like the apostle Thomas, Henry Poole isn’t quite ready to trust this community – or God. He is too busy hiding from his own secret pain to have faith in anything.

Thomas missed seeing Jesus because he wasn’t with the other apostles. Maybe, like Henry Poole, Thomas’ reaction to grief and fear was to isolate himself. Whatever his reasons, Thomas is sceptical of the testimony of his fellow disciples. Although he has no reason to believe his friends are lying about seeing the risen Jesus, Thomas declares that he will not believe until he sees what they have seen.

Why doesn’t Christ appear to each of us as he did to the disciples and Thomas? Perhaps the lesson here is that faith is not meant to be individualistic. Our faith rests on the unbroken chain of testimony stretching from the disciples to today, as well as on the witness of our community of faith.

The Action

In the movie, Henry Poole is faced with a choice. He’s been hiding from hope and connection. Will he ask Jesus to heal him, or is that hope too frightening to express? It can be easier to be cynical that it is to embrace hope and risk disappointment. This week, take a leap of faith. Bring Jesus the hurts you had given up on having healed. Dare to hope. Give Jesus a chance to surprise you.

Henry Poole Is Here
 

The Connection

It’s Okay to Be Like Thomas

 
Thomas gets a bad rap.

This guy hears a wild story. Jesus is alive again? C’mon. That’s nuts. That response from Thomas seems pretty normal to me.

Doubting your own faith is also pretty normal. Many young people start doubting their own faith as they get older. They ask whether all the stories they’ve heard about God could really be true. You know why? Their brains change.

As you grow, your brain develops. You start thinking in new ways. You start asking more questions about life. You start challenging some things people tell you. Don’t worry if this happens. It’s a normal part of growing as a disciple. But don’t let this separate you from Jesus. Let it bring you closer.

Do the following when you doubt: Read more about our faith. Answer your questions. Compare Catholic beliefs with the beliefs of other faiths. Keep looking for examples of how Catholics make a difference in the world. Read about some of our past Catholic heroes. Sit with other Christians who seem devoted to God and ask them why they have that devotion. Keep praying and attending Mass. Ask God to help you sort out your doubts. Reflect on the Christian choices you make and ask yourself, “What do the results of these choices teach me about myself and the Gospel?”

Whatever you do, just don’t walk away. Remember what happened when Thomas stuck around.

The Question of the Week

If a word or phrase from the Gospel grabs your heart, sit quietly for a moment, repeating it to yourself and asking God to show you how it applies to your life. Reflect and possibly journal on the following question:

• Whom do you talk to or what can you read when you have doubts about the Gospel?

The Song

 
I HAVE SEEN THE LORD

© 1990, Bob Hurd.
Published by OCP Publications. All rights reserved. Used with permission.