Fear & Faith

JN 20: 19-31

Sunday Gospel 4.19.20

While praying over this Gospel, a familiar lyric from John Michael Talbot’s song “Come Back to Me” arose in my heart.  The song begins with “Come back to me with all your heart, don’t let fear keep us apart.”  (Joel 2: 12-13) On a fundamental level, fear is a normal reaction that manifests itself when an individual is facing a known or unknown threat.  It belongs to a repertoire of many other feelings we possess.  Ironically, it can also serve us in our everyday survival.  As I walk my journey, it has become more evident to me that fear is a tool used by Satan to compromise our relationship with God.  If left unchecked, it can paralyze and prevent us from moving closer to the Lord.

In this Gospel, the “soon-to-be” apostles waited anxiously in the locked, upper room.  Try to imagine their dilemma.  Their brother Jesus had been brutally murdered & taken from them.  Strangers who recently welcomed them are now on the hunt.  If I sat with them, I also would have been filled with dread, fearing for my life & possibly second-guessing my faith.  Can you recall a time during your life when fear incapacitated you?  The experience of intense fear can easily imprison us & stop us in our tracks.  We all are experiencing some degree of fear currently.   

Some thirty-five years ago, I found myself engulfed by the same fear that the disciples had faced.  Undoubtedly, it was due to choices I made; choices that could have had dire consequences.  It was during this period that God made His move.  He masterfully orchestrated a personal conversion of my heart that included a “locked room” that I foolishly trusted.  I was not prepared for this; nor did I see it coming.  The fear I am describing was pointedly, instrumental in this part of my journey.  As mentioned earlier in this reflection, it was part of my survival story & it ushered me into a new life.  Much like the disciples in hiding, I experienced the risen Lord manifesting Himself through a wall of shame, dread & uncertainty that I had built.  I too, heard him say to me then “Peace be with you.”  Since then nothing has been the same.  God does not ask about our ability or inability; simply, our availability!  See you on the road. The Pilgrim.

Do you believe in Miracles?

The 1980 United States Olympic Hockey team will forever remain etched in our hearts as one of the greatest upsets in sports history. In fact, Sports Illustrated selected the team's victory over the Soviet Union in route to winning the gold medal as the No. 1 sports moment of the 20th century. The Soviet Union had won the gold medal in five of the six previous Winter Olympic Games, and were the favorites to win once more in Lake Placid. Yet, a miracle happened that February day that shocked the world. I can remember Al Michaels of ABC Sports, proclaiming that famous question:

“Do you believe in Miracles?”

I remember the moment as if it was yesterday. I witnessed “the miracle on ice.” The image forever stamped in my mind, with my family and friends jumping up and down with excitement. Tears of joy flowing down my parents faces. We just witnessed an amazing and glorious miracle. The fans were chanting USA, USA, USA. It still gives me chills today.

Today in the Gospel of John (20:1-9), we see Mary of Magdala coming to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark. The darkness will be no more, for soon, the greatest story of humankind will emanate to all who believe. The Easter story of Jesus Christ is the greatest comeback story ever written. The crucified Christ is risen from the dead. Easter is about Jesus Christ the Lord, raised from the dead by the Love of God. Christ shows us that his suffering was not in vain. For in suffering comes love for humanity. Christ is our Life, our Hope, and our Joy forever. His resurrection shows us that God does abandon his own. Christ promised he would not abandon us. “He has been raised; he is not here, but go into Galilee, there you will see him.”

St. Leo the Great says in a beautiful way that Jesus hastened to rise as soon as possible because He was in a hurry to console his Mother and the disciples: he was in the tomb strictly as long as was necessary to comply with the three days that had been foretold. He rose on the third day, as soon as He could, just before the sunrise, when everything was still dark, in advanced of the dawn with his own light.

When the young men of the 1980 US Hockey team stepped out on the ice arena, they were nervous of what awaited them. The chant of USA began to rise to a deafening level. They began to circle the ice looking into each other’s eyes. Something happened at that moment. They BELIEVED. They believed in each other. They believed they could win.

Today we bring our broken lives to the Lord. It is precisely because our lives are broken that the Spirit of the Risen One finds a way into our lives. Just remember, the saints, martyrs, friends and family are in heaven cheering for us, that we may witness the miracle of Christ every day in our lives.

Be filled with Hope, for Christ has risen.

Bernard of Clairvaux