We’re in the second week in Easter and this is the time of the year when we’re thinking about new life and about resurrection, but the reality is that for a lot of people, their day-to-day life has nothing to do with resurrection, as is the case of Halifax mother, Leah Parsons whose 16-year-old daughter Rehtaeh killed herself after being cyber-bullied and humiliated at school following her rape by four of her school-mates.
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A reflection for the second Sunday in Easter, year C:
Acts 5:12-16: Revelation 1:9-11, 12-13, 17-19; John 20:19-31
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe… I don’t know about you, but when I imagine this scene, I don’t think Jesus is giving Thomas a hard time. I think he’s encouraging him; consoling him. Think about it: Your friend, the man you loved, your teacher, has just been arrested, tortured and killed. This just happened. Today is Sunday. He was arrested on Thursday, killed on Friday. It just happened. You’re devastated. On top of that, you’re terrified because the people who killed him will probably come and kill you next. The Gospel tells us that the disciples were hiding with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish authorities. They were terrified. So, you’re devastated, sad, and terrified, and on top of that, this guy who you thought was the Messiah, the Christ – you staked your life on that – turns out that he wasn’t. He’s dead. You left everything to follow him and now what? You just wasted the last three years of your life. How are you going to go back home now? What are you going to tell your wife and family? You feel like an idiot, like a loser, like you’ve been taken in. Imagine the shame. And now these women (women were not considered credible witnesses at the time) say that the tomb is open and the body is gone. They’ve stolen his body. That’s not un-belief or cynicism. That’s reality. All of us would come to the same conclusion. There’s nothing wrong with Thomas not believing. In fact, none of the disciples believed without seeing.
Palm Sunday, 11:15am -Decided that it would be busy this morning, so I left early. Turns out that I didn’t leave early enough, got to the Church only 15 minutes before Mass. Parking lot was completely full. Remembered what Fr. Bert Foliot at Our Lady of Lourdes in Toronto once told me: “If you arrive early, you should park further away so that the people who come late can have the spots that are closest to the Church.” Found a spot in the back parking lot.
11:17am – The 10am Mass is just ending. Just saw Fr. Boniface and he’s wearing his red stole. Red stole!?! I thought today was purple! Where’s my red stole? At home. I actually own three sets. All three of my red stoles are at home. Too late to go and get it. I hope Deacon Dave lets me borrow his.
11:30am – Mass starts on time. Deacon Dave was nice and let me borrow his dalmatic. Mass starts without a hitch. I proclaim the “Hosanna” Gospel from the back of the Church. Everything is very solemn.
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I received an email early yesterday morning from a friend who said she’d be thinking about me these days because of the papal election. She wondered if she’d see a progressive pope in her lifetime.
In a way, I guess, Pope Francis is not going to be a “progressive” pope. He is not going to ordain women, agree with the re-definition of marriage, nor will he say that abortion is OK under certain circumstances. He’s Catholic and that means he’s a liberal when it comes to social issues and a conservative when it comes to moral issues. Besides, these terms, “liberal” and “conservative” don’t really apply to Catholicism. They are political terms.
But, is he progressive? Let’s back up a bit: Pope Benedict XVI decided that he needed to serve the Church in a new capacity and that it was OK for the pope to retire. That’s progressive.
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