Second Sunday of Easter

Tradition has been hard on Thomas because of his lack of faith.  But perhaps what he lacked was not faith in God, but faith in the people around him.  Thomas had no difficulty in believing Jesus.  “My Lord and my God,” he cried out.  But he did have a problem believing in his friends.  Thomas wanted more than words; he wanted signs.  And so it goes for us as well.

Faith is tough: faith in anything or anybody; faith in leaders who have lost courage and conviction; faith in massive and institutionalized falsehood; faith in corporations that rob our earth of God’s good gifts; faith in a church that often comes off unreal and out of touch with people’s lives; faith in people who say they love us; faith, even in ourselves.  We all have good reasons to doubt.

Yes, we’re Easter people and Alleluia is our song, but we’re also pilgrim people, not quite there; and so we sing our Alleluia a bit off-key and with some hesitation.  We’ve heard the words, but have not always seen the signs.  At times like this, it’s easy to be seduced by false religion, to believe that the spiritual world is only lived beyond the grave since this world and those who run it cannot be trusted.

We’re embraced cynicism with melancholy.  We’re like Thomas before the risen Lord’s second appearance.  We have forgotten how to discern the power of God and the fact that our world, our church, our families, our lives, are finally subject to God’s power.

It’s only the risen Lord and those who have risen with him who can restore our faith.  We can learn from them how to expect everything from God; people can change, violence can end, the good earth can be restored.  We can learn from them to believe in things “both seen and unseen.”

The risen Lord was not so much impressed with Thomas as he is with us who still struggle to believe.  He says of us, “Blest are they who have not seen and have believed.”  May we not only look for signs of faith, but learn to become such signs to one another.  And the Sacrament of Anointing is a good place to begin. 

Fr. Paul A. Magnano

Pastor