“BELIEVING JESUS”
Saint John
Quasimodogeniti: 19 April Anno Domini 2020
Fr Jay Watson, SSP
The gathering in the upper room is a pretty good picture of all of you this morning—really of the Church of all times, places, and peoples. Never a huge overflowing crowd, confidant and bold (as you really should be—at least joy-filled and grateful) but rather small, secluded, and oh so fearful. It’s the church as sinners…called by The Gospel, Redeemed and Sanctified, but still sinners. Any solution coming from within you, from your heart, mind, or will, still leaves you trapped and scared. “Fear of the Jews?” No, not really. Fear of the Virus? Really? The God that created you and died for you; The God/Man that washed + you and provided for your nourishment and necessities all these years, is suddenly going to deny you and cast you away? Really? It’s never The Christ Who denies that He knows you—you are inscribed on His palms, your name is written in the Book of Life, His very Flesh—it’s you who by your actions, words, and thoughts which deny that you know Him.
“The disciples were assembled.” The Word of The Lord.
And what happens when followers of The Way assemble? “Jesus came and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, ‘Peace unto you.’” Not a memory, not your feelings, and not your prayer life or good works and intentions…JESUS came, in the midst.
“For where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them” [Mt. 18.20]
This is not about you. The Law works when and where the Holy Ghost uses it—His way.
This is about Jesus and His Church—large parish or small parish—like the Disciples. At least they did not isolate themselves because their number was 11, one over the Magic Unicorn Digit that the Nanny Protector, Pharaoh, Herod, Caiaphas, Pilate, or “Dr.” Fauxci might prescribe. The Sanhedrin’s bully mobs kill far more quickly than a viral bug; ask Saint Stephen. They hid because they didn’t want to get strung up or stoned.
Jesus’ Church whether 11, 40, 70, or 111, will gather around His Word purely preached and His Sacrament rightly administered until He comes again in the Clouds—even those who pierced Him, seeing Him. He was pierced and He remains pierced. He became Incarnate and He remains Incarnate. Not virtual, not on a video screen, microphone, podcast, or even telephone—but PRESENT to be touched, handled, heard, and received.
“He shewed unto them His hands and His side…”
Why? So that He might be touched and felt and held and received as The Resurrected and Living Savior Redeemer—God still in The Flesh—Always Immanuel. There was no Bible coming to the “11.” Actually, it was more than eleven. Where do you think The Mother of God, Salome, Susanna, Mary the Mother of James, The Magdalene, Joseph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus were? If not in that upper room then in the same house…or close by. The true Church doesn’t quarantine its own…Jesus touched Lepers and dead people.
Why did He show them His wounds, His Body? Because that IS WHERE Christians recognize and receive their Redemption and Forgiveness—In, With, By, His Body. Not his virtual “body” but His bodily Body. Even the two Disciples on the road to Emmaus did not recognize and receive Him—not even after a really good (the best ever) “Bible” class, but in the “breaking of bread”—a type of The Holy Mass, The Eucharistic Feast, not a drive through window of solitary snacking.
As we follow the blessed Apostle Saint Paul by preaching and knowing only Christ Crucified, we also know no other gathering than the gathering of His Body, the Church, around the distribution of His Body…and His Blood…and His absolving Word spoken and + signed.
Thomas is not the bad guy, fall guy, or villain. We don’t know where Thomas was on Easter evening. He may have been doing a good work borne of faith while the other 10 were mired down in self absorbed recriminations and terror. Thomas’ sin was not that he wasn’t in the room, his sin was that he did not believe The Gospel when Peter and the others preached it to him. At least, not at first. Where was he a week later? He was where Christ had come before. Can any Christian ask to do more? We pray the Holy Spirit always constrains us to be where the gift of God is dispensed and trumpeted.
Miracles abound because The Word of God is Christ Jesus for us. Thomas’ believing is a miracle. But his faith borne from sight and touch is duplicated to an even greater wonder in those who have not seen and yet have believed. That Jesus, with flesh as real and solid as yours, walked through a locked door to appear in the middle of a group of petrified Galileans. That is a miracle. But that your faith receives the Identical Jesus Who appears in the bread and wine with His Body and Blood is more wondrous.
“Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” [Mt. 8.26a] And then He arose and calmed the sea. Cannot he not still calm the storm in your heart over all fears…all diseases? “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear…” [1 Jn. 4.18]
Not only the Benedictines, but all Christians should keep death daily before there eyes: “memento mori” so that they, we, realize we are pilgrims here and that Christ is our real home and prize. But also: “memento vivi” keep Life daily before your eyes. Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life. In His + Name you have life.
He shows His hands and His side.
Peace to you.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of The Holy Ghost
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