RESURRECTING TO “ONE HEART AND SOUL”

HOMILY FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

The resurrection and the appearances of Jesus were the strongest and deepest foundation for the unity, love and peace lived and experienced by the early Christian community. Any form of unity without a solid foundation crumbles in no far time. The resurrection faith was a great propellant towards more courage and determination to spread the gospel of the risen Jesus. It was a proof that the journey of faith is not ended yet. It opens the way and shines the light for better livelihood and lifestyle. A story is told of an African Muslim who became a Christian. His friends asked: why have you become a Christian? He used an analogy to answer this question. He answered: it’s like this. Suppose you were going down the road and suddenly the road forked in two directions, and you didn’t know which way to go; and there at the fork are two men, one dead and one alive –who would you ask which way to go? Jesus is alive. Only he can show us the road. His resurrection is directive; only if we believe and preach it. Believing and preaching it requires a worshiping community, since such a community assures us of the unity we need for the solidity and mobility of this message.

The Gospel of today (John 20:19-31) gives us a clear message of what a community of faith does. The story tries to convince us that it was most likely that the disciples continued to meet in the upper room where the last supper had been held. However, they were so afraid that they constantly locked the entrance doors. Having witnessed how Jesus was killed, they were afraid of whose turn would come next. This they did in the eve of every first day of the week; the content of such meeting would surely be to pray and console themselves, and to make sure that no one would be vulnerable to the pranks of the Jews. As they were together, Jesus suddenly came into their midst. He greeted them in their normal way: peace be to you. Jesus comes when we are together. He is attracted to a faithful community. If you want to see Jesus, join the believing community and gather with those who believe. In there, more experiences that enhance faith abound.

Yes, a family that prays together stays together. Praying was their bond; and thus they were living in unity. And because they were united, Jesus gave them peace. Peace is the consequence of unity. Peace does not come where there is disunity. The reward for peace then becomes the Holy Spirit. After offering them peace, Jesus proceeded to give them the Holy Spirit. And since the Spirit had been given them, empowerment followed. The empowerment was one of the power to forgive and retain sins. The process then goes this way for a worshipping community: Unity – Peace – Holy Spirit – Empowerment, whereby their sequence flows logically. Ubi caritas, et amor, Deus ibi est. This means that where charity and love is, God is there. The Holy Spirit does not dwell in a violent place. He is the Spirit of peace.

However, one of the disciples was not around. Thomas was not there during the visit of Jesus. Had it been he knew that Jesus would come that day, he would have been there. There are lessons we can grab from this. Thomas was absent when Jesus gave them the Holy Spirit and the empowerment that came with it. Even though we might allude that this empowerment was generally meant for all, both those present and those absent, but we must be aware that whenever we are not where we ought to be, we run the risk of denying ourselves certain privileges and opportunities. All that may happen is to partake in the blessing and anointing of others. It is better to be the direct recipients of God’s favours than to partake in the favours of others. We must be carriers of anointing ourselves. We need to be present in the church, and not merely asking the other faithful how the worship time was.

When he was told about the visit of the resurrected Jesus, he doubted. Thomas was someone who was prone to doubt; that is why he is called the doubting Thomas. We must recall too his expression when Jesus told his disciples that they are going to raise Lazarus. He said: let s go that we too may die with him. This is an expression of doubt and of trying to give some medication to a dead man. Thomas was however cured of this threat to faith when Jesus visited the second time, and challenged him to touch him. Then came the greatest confession of faith by Thomas, My Lord and my God. Thomas saw and believed that it was the Lord. Doubting Thomas did not stay in doubt. He became a courageous witness of the resurrection faith to many lands, in ancient Babylon, South Malaba and even to the East coast of India. The problem is not simply connected with doubting but remaining in doubt after experiencing Christ. His belief added to the belief of the other disciples, and thus there was more unity in faith.

This unity in faith got from the resurrection and appearance experience is chiefly seen in the First Reading (Acts 4:32-35). There in, we see very importantly, five indispensable characters of unity as seen in the life of the early Christian community.

1) They were of one heart and soul. The resurrection experience and faith bonded one believer to the other. They understood so well that the mission at stake warranted their unity. Mission requires unity, just as unity enhances mission. This is so during the reign of King Hezekiah who desired to gather the whole house of Israel and Judah for the celebration of the Passover. The hand of the Lord was on them to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded (2 Chro.30:12). Having one heart softens the heart of all. In Ezekiel 11:19, we discover that the promise made by God to the house of Israel of giving them one heart most probably leads to keeping the commandment of God. When we are of one heart, we achieve more, and we become more prone and wilful to obey God. This is what says in the Second Reading (1 John 5:1-6) that our love and obedience to God is weighed by our love of the children of God.

2) They owned everything in common. The responsibility that the members of the early Christian community had one another led them to develop a lifestyle that destroyed poverty and wretchedness in their midst. We must note that this sharing was not as a result of law. It was as a result of love, which came spontaneously. It is not when the law compels us to share or give that we have really done well or have become Christians. It is rather when the heart moves us to share that we live the Christian sense of charity.

3) They gave testimonies with great power. The unity among them translated to the practical lifestyle 

of bearing more witness to the foundation of their unity. They continued to bear witness to the resurrection of Jesus. Unity is power (Igwe bu ike). We have more power to proclaim our faith when we are united with one another.

4) Grace was upon them. Surely, grace attracts more grace. Holiness attracts more favours. Unity attracts more love. The life of oneness and love they practiced drew them much closer to the grace of God. Grace was there to bond them towards indestructibility and solidity. When we are one in heart and mind with our brethren, God is surely there.

5) There was justice. This justice is seen in the manner in which they distributed what has been brought by members. It was distributed to each man just as the man needed. This is distributive justice. This means that those who had not began to have, while those who had in excess were not interested to have more. Equity is giving to each man what he deserves and needs at a particular. This is what St. Paul makes the people of Corinth to understand when he advised them to be more generous: your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. Equity solves the social problem of the society whereby the rich become richer as the poor become poorer. Any society that fails to understand the tenets of distributive justice impoverishes her citizens, to the extent that the economy may seem to be growing but the people are suffering.

It is in this last point that the mercy of God shines forth so much. God desires us to practice mercy. We practice mercy when we are not selective about whom we show mercy. God’s mercy is for all. And this is the emphasis of today which is the divine mercy Sunday, when we recall once more the great mercy shown to us by God in the sending character of his son, Jesus. May we too tap immensely from this mercy of God and learn to practice it. Amen. Happy Divine Mercy Sunday. God bless you.