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Second Sunday of Easter
We all have some understanding of what it means to be a member of a club or group. Perhaps it is school related, work connected or a social organization. We join these groups because we have an interest and enjoy what is taking place. We want to be a part of the membership. Our Christian faith has similar characteristics, the initiation or membership, is our Baptism. We profess our faith, which is the creed, and are washed clean of all sin through water, in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
All memberships require commitment and responsibility. We need to believe in what we become a part of, know its purpose, and want to be a part of it, if we are to receive the benefits and pleasures that come from it. This means we have to put our trust in the hands of others, and believe in something without first experiencing it. The truth of the matter is;
all of us at some time or another are just like doubting Thomas. We want some kind of material presence, we want to touch it, and see it.
I would like to share a story with you…I bought a GPS device. I am fascinated with these devices. How they can locate just about any address you enter in them, and then provide you with detailed driving directions. I thought this would be great item to have; it would come in handy for work and pleasure. On Monday of Holy Week my wife and I had dinner reservations on North Charles Street, before going to the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. I typed in the address and off I went. For those who aren’t familiar with these GPS devices, they tell you when you are approaching your turn and sound a chime a few hundred feet before making that turn. I’m in Baltimore at this point and my GPS instructs me to turn. I said to my wife I know a better way! I will exit onto Rt. 83, and take Northern Parkway to North Charles Street. So I exited onto Rt. 83 north, and wouldn’t you know it; traffic was barely moving. I got off at the first exit, and reprogrammed the GPS. Again it attempted to give me directions.
And again I knew a better way. My wife looked at the screen on the GPS monitor and said to me; “it looks like the restaurant is right around the corner”. I turned the corner and saw for myself, just a few blocks up on the left was the restaurant. I rave about these GPS devices; I buy one for myself, but doubt that it may know more than I do. How many times has this or something similar happened to you? We know in our heart and believe in our mind, but don’t act accordingly. After seeing I believed.
Our weakness quite often is our lack of faith. We won’t give faith a fighting chance. We need to touch and see with our own eyes, before we are willing to make that commitment.
The irony is: the word of God is not fully realized until it becomes a lived experience, and it is in this lived experience that we see Jesus, and touch his very hands and side. Faith and love are constantly exposed to temptation, doubt, and indifference. We need each other for support. Christian values of love, justice, respect, decency, and concern for one another is what keeps our faith in Jesus alive. Faith is the beginning, but the real story is told in our response to Faith. And this reply requires knowledge of Jesus.
So who do you say Jesus is? Sometimes it is easier to say what something is not, in order to learn what it really is. Doctors often use this approach: If you go to the E/R with chest pain, right away they have to rule out heart complications, then the next most threatening matter, and so on, until they find out what it is. We can use this same method and ask our self what God is not, to see who he is. In your prayer time examine yourself before God;
seek to recognize what offends him. Ask for forgiveness and in the forgiving you will see God. We rule out what he disapproves of, and in the ruling out we witness who he is.
When we commit to Jesus and his ways, our faith is increased, our hope elevated, our love for one another becomes overflowing and our life never ending. Much like the GPS device, God may not take you down the same roads you have in mind, but he will deliver you to your destination.