Easter

The setting for this Sunday’s Gospel is the Last Supper. Jesus had promised to give the Holy Spirit to instruct and guide the Church after His Ascension into heaven, but at this moment of His final meeting with the apostles before His death He was eager to tell them what was closest to His heart. He did so in but a few words: “Love one another.” These days some Catholics think that the Church has gone soft. They lament the fact that the practice of fasting and abstinence has been lessened both in its frequency and its severity. They say there is too much talk about mercy and not enough about penance. They judge that the Church is lax about allowing frequent communion. They seem to be of the opinion that the “good old days” meant it was a challenge to be a good Catholic. The truth is that some of the external practices were easy to comply with in comparison with the command of Jesus. When we face what His commandment entails, we see that it is far from easy, especially when we understand what Jesus meant when He declared that His commandment is new. That is what He meant when He added, “Such as my love has been for you, so must your love be for each other.”

It was this commandment of love which inspired the preachers of the early Church, like Paul and Barnabas whom we heard about in the first reading, to travel great distances under difficult circumstances to proclaim the good news. It was love which made their hearers accept the faith and persevere in it so that the Church spread throughout the world. It was love which moved the martyrs to give up their lives. It was love which inspired saints to serve others unselfishly without hope of gain. And it is this same love for each other which will make us good Catholics today. Participating in the Eucharist helps us to become more and more like Christ so that we may keep His commandment, “Such as my love has been for you, so must your love be for each other.”

The story of Jesus’ appearance by the See of Galilee after the resurrection is one of the great dramatic stories in the New Testament. Most of the disciples had returned to Galilee and were just sitting around until Peter perked them up by suggesting that they went fishing. A man shouts to them from the shore and tells them where to cast the net and find fish. Immediately, the nets are heaving with the catch. When the disciples reach shore, they realized it is Jesus, and He feeds them. On the shores of the See of Galilee they once more find themselves called. Peter especially is asked to reaffirm his love for Jesus 3 times, overriding his denying of Jesus 3 times. What Jesus always did among the disciples He does again – He gives life and hope in abundance.

Being followers of Jesus gives our lives meaning and direction. We are often busy but without a strong sense of purpose and meaning. Mission today includes recognizing our connection in love with the natural world that is God’s creation. As we offer God the “fruit of the earth” in the Eucharist, we are called to respond to the world’s poor people, who are struggling to survive amidst the diminishing abundance of the natural world and ravages caused by climate change. We also reflect that followers of Jesus are called to be people of hope. Amidst the disappointments in everyday life or the violence in today’s world or human abuse of God’s creation, we are to look for the signs of hope and retain a positive vision. Even when we feel unworthy and powerless, God is with us and blesses us.

Today, in the first reading, we hear one of the most important teachings that we will ever learn, and that St. Peter needed to learn. God doesn’t have favorites. Everyone who does what is right is acceptable to God. There are no barriers, no dividing lines that separate us from one another. Not race, not color, not creed. In Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord tells us that not even enemies are to be treated differently. Love your enemies, He tells us, and do good to those who treat you badly. This teaching can be seen in practice on every page of the Gospels, where Jesus is confronted by His opponents. He treats them all with fairness, openness and honesty. This fair dealing with difficult people is love in action. At the Last Supper Jesus gives us the commandment to “love one another, as I have loved you.” For love is not a feeling. It is a response to God’s loving us first, and a grace of Christ to love others. The love of God for us inspires us to love others and to make no exceptions.

The French writer Charles Peguy once said: “The sinner is at the very heart of Christianity. No one understands so well as the sinner what Christianity is about – no one unless it be the saint.” We can understand the position of the saint but may wonder how ordinary, sinful people like ourselves can be said to be at the heart of Christianity. But the readings we’ve heard today may enable us to see things differently. We are sinners whom the risen Lord has looked upon. His look of love and mercy rested upon us when we were baptized; it rests upon us whenever we seek Him in the sacrament of reconciliation; and rests upon us again each time we celebrate the Eucharist. It’s the certainty of forgiveness, fruit of the resurrection, that fills us with the joy of the Gospel.

The apostle was a complex and unique personality. That uniqueness may explain why Jesus chose him in the first place. It is probably that our Lord was determined to use personality for our education. Who knows? Perhaps Mr. Edison learned in the course of his long life the wisdom of RB Graham. “It takes more faith to be an atheist than it does to believe in God.” There are but 3 informative references to Thomas in the New Testament. Perhaps John the Eagle concluded that the neglect of Thomas in earlier accounts did a serious injustice to Thomas himself and to Catholics at large. Thomas is pessimistic, stubborn as that famous mule, and subject to the all too common line that teaches seeing is believing. Someone has noted Thomas had a question mark for a mind. This complicated psyche is graphically illustrated in the 16th century Caravaggio painting of Thomas placing his finger into Christ’s wound. We know the Gospel story and especially its happy ending. Thomas would never forget that searing line of his resurrected Leader, “Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe!” The doubting Thomas had received a lecture on faith that he would never forget. It is a message which Edison never learned. Thomas the apostle had told his fellows that seeing is believing. Christ thought the apostle that believing is seeing.

The Gospels tells us Thomas had a twin. Who is his twin? It is you and I. William Bausch tells us that we are all a mixture of doubt and certainty, pessimism and trust, unbelief and belief. On those days, when doubt, pessimism, and unbelief hold the cards, we must hold onto Thomas’ cloak and not let go for dear life. As we leave this Liturgy, we should say a prayer in gratitude for such a person as the apostle Thomas. But in addition each one of us will want to reflect on the aphorism that teaches that it is not sufficient for Catholics to believe their faith. They must tell others about it. “Our lives end the day,” said Martin Luther King Jr., “that we become silent about things that matter.”