Gospel Reflection 4/12/26

My brothers,

We are a people surrounded by constant noise: arguments without listening, endless news cycles- telling us what to hold true; opinions that become weapons.

We hear speak of red, white, and blue being “great again” as if that matters more than the cross on which hung our salvation- Jesus – the words He spoke and the example He invited us to follow.

We no longer make an effort to gain broader insights and remain happy staying in our narrow views of reality.

We fear differences in skin color, language, and culture, forgetting that there is one creator – and He calls it ALL “very good.”

We are weary; exhausted by the strain of a divided country – communities fractured by mistrust and violence, people of all ages struggling with anxiety and depression, a world filled with conflict and war, and we have a longing that no connection seems to fill.

We have learned how to respond to protect our “tribes” but fail miserably at communicating. We do not listen. We see silence as failure and have failed to master stillness, where we can find union with the God who calls us beloved and offers us rest.

We have advanced so much since the days of the first disciples and still we are not so different from them - locked behind doors, afraid of what may be outside, uncertain of the future.

Yet—He comes – not into a calm world, but into a world bound by fear, confusion, and doubt.

He comes through those locked doors that bind us, into the chao and says: “Peace be with you.”

This is not the peace of winning an argument, of “being right.” Nor is it the peace of everything going our way, nor the peace of control.

It’s the kind of peace that can exist in a divided nation, and even in a restless heart.

He shows us His wounds and we must not look away! In a world that hides weakness, He reveals it. In a culture that avoids pain, He gives us an example. In a people who are quick to judge, He offers mercy.

Why do we continue to try to hide our wounds as if they would disqualify us?

“Thomas doubted, and was not rejected. He questioned, and was invited closer. He reached toward the wounds, and found faith there.”

Thomas was not disqualified and we are not either! Jesus asks us to share our doubts, questions, and struggles with Him so that He can reveal Himself for us – just as He did for Thomas.

We must stop thinking we are unworthy, but more so, we must stop treating one another as enemies and believing that fear will save us. We must stop waiting for certainty before we choose to love.

This nation will not heal by shouting louder. Our communities will not be restored by locking doors.

Peace begins in hearts willing to be transformed.

We are blessed, not because we have all the answers, but because we are willing to believe that something greater than division is possible.

We ask for signs and demand proof. We measure, compare, defend. But faith was never meant to be transactional.

Faith requires an encounter. Peace offered. Mercy extended. Love granted as an invitation from the heart.

The doors we lock do not keep Him out, but keep us trapped.

So let’s open them!

And notice: He is already standing amongst us, speaking peace into the very places we thought were too broken, too conflicted, too volatile to heal.

-Ignar, the Pilgrim Prophet