Easter 2B

The 2nd Sunday of Easter Year B April 8, 2018 This past week, I read a blog post by one of my favorite spiritual writers, Parker Palmer. In this older post that Palmer re-shared this week, he talked about how he and his wife had visited the Grand Canyon a few years ago and had noticed a number of kids there who were messing around at the edge of the canyon. When they met a park ranger on the trail, Palmer told him he was baffled by the parental neglect he had witnessed, with the parents he saw turning a blind-eye to their children’s dangerous behavior. The park ranger shook his head and replied: “I’m not sure it’s outright neglect. A surprising number of folks think of the Canyon as a theme park, a fantasy land that may look dangerous but isn’t, where hidden nets will save you from injury or death. Every day I have to remind some people that the Canyon is real, and so are the consequences of a fall of hundreds of feet. I guess some people prefer illusions to reality-even though illusions can kill you.” Palmer continues, “The ranger named a problem larger and more pervasive than the fantasy that the Grand Canyon is Arizona’s Disneyland. We Americans prefer illusions to reality at every level of our common life, even though illusions can kill us. Why? Because indulging our illusions comforts us — especially when they’re supported by a culture that loves to play ‘let’s pretend.’”i The article then goes through the different areas in our common life that Palmer identifies where our preferring illusions to reality has become dangerous for us Americans: education, organized religion, and politics. I share this with you today because I think it is an interesting juxtaposition with our gospel reading for today. Today we have the passage from John’s gospel which picks up on the evening of the first Easter. The disciples, minus Thomas, are huddled together, with the doors of the house locked because they are all afraid. The disciples have heard from Mary Magdalene her mysterious news: “I have seen the Lord.” And she has shared her story with them of how she met the risen Christ near his tomb, how she mistook him for the gardener, and how, when he called her by name, she recognized him. As they are huddled together in fear, Jesus appears to them, shows them his wounds, offers them his peace, and gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit. And then Thomas, comes back from wherever he had been, and they tell him the story, and he says, “Well, I won’t believe it until I see it for myself.” So a week later, they are all gathered in the same place together with the doors once again locked, and Jesus appears to them, offers Thomas the opportunity to touch his wounds and the invitation to believe. Thomas then makes his confession: “My Lord and my God!” And all throughout the centuries, our patron saint has been known as “Doubting Thomas,” which I think is a huge misnomer. Thomas is the only disciple who is not huddled behind the doors of the locked house on the evening of Easter. Where was he? What was he doing? He also has a history in John’s gospel of being tenacious, a pragmatist, and also being dogged in his determination to follow Jesus. In John 11, when Jesus is planning to go back to Bethany where they had just threatened to stone him in order to raise his friend Lazarus from the dead, it is Thomas who identifies the possible repercussions and then says boldly, well, let’s all go, too, so that we may die with him. And in John 14, when Jesus tells the disciples he is going before them to prepare a place for them, Thomas asks, practically, “Lord, how can we follow you when we do not know the way?” Thomas has the gift of seeing through the illusions that we create to make ourselves feel better, which is why it is so important to him to see and touch the wounds of the risen Christ. Only when Thomas sees where Jesus has been wounded in and through his death, will he believe the good news of the resurrection, and Thomas is not afraid to ask for, even demand what he needs in order to continue to follow Jesus. And the amazing thing is that Jesus offers it to him freely, again and again, with forgiveness and the gift of his peace. On this Second Sunday of Easter, your invitation for this week is to be like Thomas and to seek to see through the illusions that you create to make yourself feel better. It can be an area of your own life or an area of our common life together, in the church, in this country, or in the world. Ask the Risen Christ for what you need to do this, and trust that he will provide it for you along with the gift of his Peace. i.Losing our Illusions by Parker Palmer for onbeing. https://onbeing.org/blog/losing-our-illusions/