It’s been two weeks since we were at Easter. And if you listened to the Good Friday sermon you know that attacks and persecution of Jews is a problem. Religious persecution also happens against Muslims. And this past week my hairdresser, who is a Buddhist from Vietnam, told me that her brother and several acquaintances have experienced persecution. It is important that we are aware of these forms of religious persecution. But do you know that there is a group that has experienced an increase in persecution more than any other group in the world? Which group is it? They are not Christians. They are the atheists. They have received an increase in evil acts more than any other religious group.
Jesus Christ was not like that. When Thomas was in doubt, Jesus did not scold or criticize Thomas. Jesus shared God’s love with Thomas. The thing we have to remember is that although Jesus rose from the dead, He was still not with the disciples for long. His appearances after the resurrection were just this: appearances. A moment, an instant, a sight, a sense, a vision, a whisper, and it’s over faster than smoke or steam. So not only did Tomás have doubts, maybe everyone had doubts.
Consider the time notation in the Gospel according to John:
- Jesus appeared very early to a few people for seconds not minutes.
- He passed all day and then he appeared to the disciples in the afternoon and said very few words.
- The text says eight days later. It means he spent the whole week with nothing.
If you love someone. If you love someone. What if you want to have a deep relationship with someone, is it a good idea to say hello twice briefly on Sunday and then not have any contact for the rest of the week? Is it possible to have a meaningful relationship with that contact pattern?
It makes me think from the book and the movie, “I will love you forever.” In this story we read of the love between a woman who is an artist in Chicago and a man who has a rare condition that makes him travel through time involuntarily. He has no time travel machine. No. He has a rare genetic condition. He leaps into the past and future of his own life. Many times he scares his family members who have rare opportunities to meet him as a teenager or child. These moments are usually brief. It is a form almost of torture to his family because he does not have any control as to travel to the past or the future. For example, the family could be celebrating Christmas and in an instant he disappears and does not return for a few days. Several friends and relatives of the time traveler’s wife tell him that it is better to leave him alone. It’s not worth it, they said. You never know when he’s going to be or not. But the woman is very in love with him and faithfully continues with the faith that he will always return. I imagine it was like that for the disciples after the resurrection.
I know that for many the past year has been a time of deep doubt. Where is God in all this pandemic and quarantine? Some people have told me that it always felt like Lent last year. Others told me: I feel that Jesus is dead on the cross. If we are honest, doubt is part of each person’s life. That is why it is so important that we share God’s love especially with them who doubt the existence of God. And if you are in a chapter or a station in your life in which you have a lot of doubt, you have to love your own being. Do not criticize or hate yourself when you have doubts, on the contrary, share God’s love for yourself.
God’s love is like oxygen. If you are in an airplane and there is turbulence, the oxygen mask will fall and you have to put it on your own being first before helping others. And if you have turbulence in the life of your faith, you must first love your own being, so that you can share God’s love with others. I congratulate you for being here in the church taking care of your own being. Well done. You decided to be here and you have decided well. Receive the word of God that is like oxygen for your being.
The reading of chapter 4 in the book “Acts of the Holy Spirit” is an example par excellence of sharing the love of God. The apostles shared their lives with each other including money, time, and property. His way of sharing God’s love was so intense especially that all things were in common property. Students of politics have observed that this sounds like communism or socialism. The difference is that the way of sharing was not mandatory by a government but voluntarily from the heart. Still monks and nuns dedicate their lives in an intentional community. This way of life is pretty. And although we are not monks or nuns, we still practice a form of voluntary communism. We offer our gifts to God, and as a congregation we collectively decide what to do. Thank you for making your offerings, sharing God’s love. My family also participate and give to God.
Sharing God’s love for one another makes more people experience and know God. They make people live in harmony like Aaron and Moises.
The good news for today is that God is with us. The gospel for today is that even though you have spent time feeling an absence of God, Jesus is going to surprise you with a visit. As for Thomas who had his doubts. How many days after the resurrection day did they meet Jesus again? Eight days. Today we have a baptism. Baptism is the act of the eighth day of the resurrection. The next week. I like how Latinos say when they leave after service: see you in eight days. So it is with Jesus. He will arrive as a lover that you have waited a long time for. You could touch his hands, his side, and know the pain he suffered for you. Don’t be an unbeliever, but a believer. Jesus is with us again today. Thank you God!
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