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Sunday 23 April ’17
Second Sunday of Easter
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Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
The Readings for this Second
Sunday of Easter anticipate the Feast of Pentecost that is coming on the 50th
day of our Easter celebration. In our
lesson from the Acts of the Apostles, we find St. Peter boldly preaching the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is amazing to see the
transformation that has occurred in this man who is the ringleader of the
apostles. Remember it was this same man
who on the night of the Lord’s betrayal and condemnation denied three times
that he even knew Jesus. But now, mere
weeks later, Peter has been emboldened to proclaim Jesus.
And there is more that needs to
be considered than just this betrayal.
We tend to focus only on St. Thomas in today’s Gospel. We have dubbed this Gospel and this Sunday as
“Doubting Thomas.” But note here that
Thomas was not with the disciples on the Day of Resurrection when Jesus
appeared in their midst, confirming the news of the resurrection that the
faithful women shared with the apostles.
The other ten were locked away in fear.
They believed that in the wake of the death and burial of Jesus, their
teacher, that it was only a matter of time before they too would meet a similar
fate to Jesus. Peter was among these
ten. Thomas was the only one bold enough
to show his face in public. The others
were emboldened to believe the news of the resurrection only because Jesus
stood in their midst and showed them proof of his resurrection. When Thomas doubted them, he had the same
response to them that they had had to the women who announced the resurrection
to them.
Jesus appears a second time, on
the Sunday after the Resurrection. In
that encounter, Jesus transforms them all by breathing on them the gift of the
Holy Spirit. It is this gift that
enables the apostles, including Thomas and Peter, to believe the resurrection
and to proclaim Jesus to be “My Lord and My God!”
Throughout the remainder of
these Easter days in which we celebrate and proclaim the resurrection, we will
read various portions of the Acts of the Apostles. In these readings we will find Peter, and
Stephen the deacon, and Paul the apostle, and countless others, proclaiming
boldly the truth that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, and is the source of
life for the whole world. In all of
these witnesses, we will be reminded of the power of the Holy Spirit who causes
the Gospel both to be preached and to be received. We will again and again be amazed by the
transformation of these men once weak but made strong, who once froze in fear
but now faced their fears with the knowledge that nothing could separate them
from the love of God made known in Jesus Christ.
Now go back with me to that
place in which the apostles were locked away in fear, in hopes that if they
remained “out of sight,” they would also be “out of mind,” and thus would be
safe. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit
who emboldened them to come out from hiding and to preach Jesus Christ risen
from the dead, trampling down death by death, giving the hope of eternal life
even to the dying, did not make them safe.
Of the 12 apostles, John alone escaped martyrdom, at least in the most
narrow definition of the term; being put to death. But even John was exiled and faced suffering
and hardship. Remember that it was in
this exile that John was given the vision from which the last book of the New
Testament, the Revelation, was written.
The apostles, filled with the
Holy Spirit, faced head-on the very real possibility that their message of
Jesus would not be accepted. And history
has shown us that though it was received with gladness by many, there were some
who rejected them and Christ. Even in
death, their steadfastness in preaching Jesus bore fruits for eternal life,
both for them and for countless persons who have received their message, including
us.
But make no mistake about this;
we have received their message not simply that we might marvel at them and
their transformation. We have received
the same gift of the Holy Spirit, and the same commission to proclaim the
resurrection has been given to us. We
who are the baptized children of God, who live in this generation, in this
nation and in this city and valley, are called to make Jesus known not as a
dead man of history but rather as the living God who is the source of life and
love that knows no end.
Look around you and see how the
world needs to receive this message, even as the world needed in days of old
the proclamation not only of the champions among the apostles, such as Peter
and his brothers, but also all those who heard the glad tidings of Christ’s
resurrection. The world about us has
already moved on from Easter. If you
want proof of that, simply greet someone this week with the words, “Happy
Easter!” You will see quickly that most
whom you encounter will think you are crazy, for Easter is over. Greet them with the words, “Christ is risen,”
and they will think you are stuck in time past.
And yet there remains even today
the need to make Jesus known. Even today
and in our own land, there are people who need to hear of Jesus. Some of them need to know that he is alive
and not just a piece of history. Many
need to know that he is relevant to them and their daily lives, that he loves
them more than anyone else, more than they have ever been loved. And how will they hear this if we who are
Christ’s body, his hands and his voice in this generation and in this place,
choose to be quiet and keep our Christian faith private?
But what if people reject our
message? What if they think we are just
foolish Christians, out of touch, delusional and undesirable? What are we striving for; the favor of God,
or the favor of other mortal beings, who apart from Christ, have no life in
them? We should not have to give that
much thought before we find an answer.
As Christians, we strive to be found acceptable to God, having shown in
words and in deeds that we believe in the power of the resurrection. And so we can do, for we, like Peter and
Thomas, and their brothers, have received the Holy Spirit. Let us therefore strive to proclaim Jesus not
just today, but every day, until at last we fully experience the power of the
resurrection and gaze on Jesus no longer in the Blessed Sacrament but with eyes
and a body raised from corruption to perfection before God by God.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
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Father Timothy Alleman
Rector of The Church of the Holy Cross
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