Second Easter Sunday  May 1, 2011

Acts 2:42-47  Psalm: 118   1 Peter 1:3-9  John 20:19-31  

Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again.

The apostles and believers have witnessed the death of Christ. Some have seen the risen Lord. They believe but they are confused, bewildered and uncertain. It is the Easter Season in preparation for Pentecost. The Holy Spirit will come down on the Apostles.

Then they will grasp the mysterious workings of Jesus Christ.

Then they will begin to understand the Message of the kingdom.

Then they will understand what their eyes have seen

Then they will understand the Word of God as proclaimed to them.

In the very first lines of the first reading we have the heart and backbone of the Church.

a. In the first place we have the Apostles teaching. They handed down to those who believed, to those wishing to walk in the path of the Master what they themselves had received.  They hand down the teaching of Jesus Christ. Today the teaching is entrusted to the hierarchy in our church. It is called the Church’s Magisterium or the Church’s teaching authority.

 It is our duty to know what this teaching encompasses, to understand what it means and to obey. On the part of the Church’s authority, it is their duty as Paul would say in 2 Tim 1:13 “keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you”

 Jesus warned the Scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23:4 – and in doing so warns us today “not to heap on burdens on believers” but rather to support encourage and help their belief.

b.  The second authentic sign of the church is fellowship or Community. When there are a large number of believers they can see the same thing and come to different conclusions

Four blind men encountered an elephant. One felt the elephant’s tail and said the Elephant is a rope. Another felt the leg, and said the Elephant is a pillar. A third felt the side, and said the Elephant was a wall. The fourth felt the trunk and was promptly lifted up and flung. He said the Elephant was a sling shot. All had only an inkling of the truth. In fellowship, in community – the only thing that holds us together is not uniformity or unanimity, but rather the love of one another because Christ has loved us.

c. The third authentic sign of the church was the unifying action of the “breaking of bread”. This was how the Eucharist was described before theologians and liturgists arrived on the scene.

 The Eucharist consisted of a community meal, during which the host or presider would take the bread, break and give it in memory of the Lord’s command. Some abuses crept in this “way of proceeding.” The two main ones were:

• Because the Eucharist was celebrated during a meal, the wine flowed easily and there were occasions when people woud get quite drunk. As a result the Eucharist was gradually separated from the meal. The rule of fasting from food and drink before the Eucharist came into practice.
• The second abuse was what we would call bigotry today. The poor, the uneducated, the working class were not invited to the Eucharistic table. The rich, the famous and those with economic or political status had reserved spots. Distinctions were made within the “body of Christ.”

d. The fourth significant sign of the Church was prayer. Jesus constantly told his apostles and followers to pray. Ask, Seek, Knock was a constant theme of his teaching. But Jesus also put this into practice.

The Acts of the Apostles goes on to tell us that a number of believers were added to that community as they saw the Love of Christ put into action. The believers held their possessions in common so that no one would go in need. This is the first description of Communism in its good and correct sense.

 As we prepare for Pentecost during these 50 days of Easter – it is worthwhile reminiscing on how these signs are evident today. We can also do some checks and balances to see if  we have compromised and blurred these marks of the Body of Christ.

The marks of the Body of Christ?  Thomas will say that he will not believe until he can put his finger into the holes the nails have made and put his hand in the side and feel the wound made by the spear.  Although he like other 10 had run away, they knew the details of the suffering and death of Jesus.  The reality is that people outside the Catholic Church demand to see the same marks in us, “the Body of Christ.” It is easy to follow Christ a King, dressed in royal robes. That sight makes us want to sit on his right and left as the Sons of Zebedee requested. It is more difficult to follow one who has holes in his hands and feet, made by nails!

The Gospel is a long fascinating story that grips the imagination It describes a problem of the early church: “do I have to see in order to believe?” The answer from Jesus himself is NO. And so we have the story of Thomas the Apostle. In fact the actual seeing does not guaranty that we will have faith.

 Faith is a gift and it will come as long as we are open to receive it. This gift comes through listening to the Word of God as proclaimed by the Apostle. This brings us back a full circle to the very first line of the first reading: “The believers gathered to hear the Word of God.”