Homily for 2nd Sunday of Easter 2019
Acts 5:12-16; Revelation 1:9-11a,12-13,17-19; John 20:19-31
Introduction
"Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." At least twice, including in today’s gospel, Jesus says those words to the disciples, thus passing the baton of his mission on to the Church. Jesus sends the Church on to finish the race of building the Kingdom of God.
But he does not just pass the baton on and say "swim or sink." In today’s gospel we heard that he “breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit,”” thus empowering them to carry out his mission.
And so, borrowing an idea from Bishop Robert Barron, I would like to reflect on the Church’s mission based on the three characters of today's readings, John, Peter and Thomas, who represent three ways the Church continues to be sent as an instrument of God’s grace and mercy, of the means of salvation.
Scripture and Tradition
Perhaps the natural starting place is St. John about whom we read in the second reading from the Book of Revelation. From the gospels we know that John was the beloved disciple of Jesus. Yes, even Jesus had a favourite. My mother denies she has a favourite; but I know who the favourite is, yours truly.
Perhaps Jesus loved John more because John listened to Jesus. At the Last Supper we read that John rested his head on the chest of Jesus, listening to his heart, as the Church Fathers speculated. But most of all, John is the only disciple who remained with the Lord, even at the Cross, and the Lord left his Mother Mary in his hands. Legend has it that Mary lived with John in Ephesus until she was taken up into heaven. Moreover, you might remember that on Easter morning, both John and Peter ran to the tomb, but John was faster. He, however, waited and deferred to his older colleague before entering.
John represents the contemplative dimension of the Church. For example, in our reading from the Book of Revelation, he described a vision that he had about the heavens, where he saw “seven gold lampstands and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, wearing an ankle-length robe, with a gold sash around his chest.” And in this vision the one like the son of man touched John and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, the one who lives. Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I hold the keys to death and the netherworld."
This contemplative dimension of the Church, has continued on throughout the history of the Church, especially through monks, nuns, visionaries, and in our liturgy. Like John these people focus on contemplating the heavenly things, even when we are still on this earth. Indeed all of us, in our prayer life, in our liturgy and sacramental life, attempt to encounter the heavenly things, because the contemplative life is part of what Jesus meant when he said, As the Father has sent me, so I send you." For the Church's mission must always contemplate those things of heaven, where we are going.
The second dimension of the Church is the missionary outreach, represented by St. Peter. Although he is not the favourite, Peter is the head of the apostles, and so translates what is contemplated into action, in his ministry of healing.
The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles told us: “Many signs and wonders were done among the people at the hands of the apostles.” The apostles took the healing power of Jesus to the people in need, healing them of their many infirmities. This ministry was so successful that: “Thus they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on one or another of them.” Peter's leadership was widely acknowledge that even just his shadow was seen to have healing powers.
The Church has continued this apostolic ministry today, perhaps not primarily through miraculous healings, although some of them happen, but through other signs and wonders, through the sacraments and through its charity.
Through the sacraments, the Church brings healing to people. In fact, one of the sacraments was mentioned in today’ gospel, when after giving them the Spirit the Lord told the apostles: “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." Jesus thus sent the disciples out to to offer the sacrament of penance, which together with the other sacraments, particularly baptism and Eucharist, brings healing and reconciliation with God.
But the Church has also carried out this apostolic dimension of its mission through caring for the needy, through hospitals and schools, orphanages and nursing homes. Today we also have soup kitchens, and agencies like Catholic Charities that help people with adoption, immigration and legal services and others. Like his predecessor Peter did, Pope Francis has constantly reminded us of this important dimension of the Church’s mission. Like Jesus was sent to bring glad tidings to the poor, so he has sent us to do the same, particularly through the corporal works of mercy.
We can find in St. Thomas the third dimension of the Church's mission. Although he is popularly known as the Doubting Thomas, there is more to him. Yes, he was absent during the first appearance of Jesus. Perhaps like us he had skipped Church on Sunday for any number of excuses: going fishing, travelling, the weather, laziness. And he had said: “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." But a week later, he saw the Lord, believed and expressed his belief most emphatically, saying, “My Lord and my God!"
Thomas, like the smart kid represents the theological or intellectual dimension of the Church, that dimension of the Church that wants to believe, but also understand. That is probably why the Lord did not condemn him for his previous denials, but invited him to touch him and understand better. The Church has continued in this tradition of faith seeking understanding throughout history. Like St. Thomas, great thinkers have reflected on and sought to understand better God's revelation: St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. John Chrysostom, St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Bonaventure, St. Ignatius of Loyola, and in our own day, Popes John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. They are doing what 1 Peter 3:19 says: “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.”
Christian Life
Unfortunately, as we carry out this mission on which we have been sent by Jesus, there can be a temptation to choose one or other of these dimensions.
- We cannot be just contemplative, burying our hearts in our prayers and visions. Bereft of the other two dimensions, this would be pietism.
- We cannot be just serving others, especially their physical needs. Bereft of the other two dimensions, this would be social activism. That is why Pope Francis, constantly reminds us that the Church is not an NGO like the Red-Cross; we serve others in the name of Jesus.
- We cannot be just speculating about the faith. Bereft of the other two dimensions, this would be intellectualism. That is why Pope Benedict, despite his great theological gifts, constantly reminded us, that "Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction" (DCE 1).
Conclusion
To be authentic dispensers of the Good News, of God's grace, of divine mercy; to build up the Kingdom, all three dimensions must be a part of what we do as Mother Teresa showed us. A woman of deep prayer and contemplation, that rich spiritual life moved her to care for the sick and dying in the missionary outreach of the Church. And then she always subjected both her prayer and ministry to the teaching of the Church, to ensure that they were in line with the mind of Christ.
When Jesus says to you and me today: "As the Father has sent me, so I send you" he is similarly not sending us out to be merely visionaries, or merely social activists, or merely theologians. For his mission, we are to use all three: our hearts, our hands and our minds.
