Last week we celebrated Easter Mass with smiles, lots of laughter and wishing each other a Blessed and Happy Easter. The church was packed with people, as Easter is the highlight of the Christian calendar.
But think back to 2019 and halfway around the world when we heard of the tragic Easter attacks on the churches and hotels in Sri Lanka. Our joy and laughter gave way to tears, crying and spontaneous prayers. Hundreds were killed and more were injured.
Each Easter since then, I can’t help but wonder, “How do we reconcile Easter Beliefs with Easter Bombings?” Easter beliefs celebrate life over death, the triumph of good over evil, peace over violence and light over darkness.
But in the wake of any bombing or shooting, the survivors and families of victims and others, such as ourselves, ask those challenging questions: Why didn’t God protect those people? Why didn’t God stop the suicide bombers? Why does God allow evil like this to happen?
For the survivors and those left to mourn, there are no easy answers to reconcile Easter Beliefs and Easter Bombings.
I will never forget the haunting image of the statue of the resurrected Christ that remained standing in the bombed ruins of St. Sebastian’s Catholic Church in Katana, Sri Lanka. Perhaps it is the key to reconciling the Easter beliefs with the Easter bombing. The statue of the glorified and Resurrected Christ had the nail prints in Christ hands. One of Christ’s arms is raised in triumph, but the statue has now been splattered with the blood of the innocent victims of Easter Sunday, April 21, 2019.
That Easter, the people in Sri Lanka lived in fear. Officials urged Muslims to stay home from Friday prayers and Catholic leaders canceled Masses throughout Sri Lanka all weekend. Fears of more attacks plagued the island nation.
Shops were closed, streets were empty and heavy security patrols continued. The country was living in fear.
Today’s gospel describes the disciples hiding behind locked doors, fearful of those who killed Jesus. Then Jesus in His glorified and resurrected body appeared to them and said, “Peace be with you.” He showed them his hands and side. His glorified body still bore the wounds of His suffering and crucifixion.
This is the price Christ paid to bring peace. This costly peace that Christ won for us compels us to be peacemakers. This peace can only be achieved if justice is achieved.
If history has shown us anything, it is that those of us who follow Christ will always be persecuted. History also demonstrates that the early church was built on the spilled blood of the first saints. They died for their Easter beliefs.
The haunting question remains, “Why?”
We as believers are faced with the challenge of trying to explain the mystery of God’s love, our Easter belief, and the problem of evil, the Easter bombing of 2019.
There are those skeptics who actually believe that God is the cause of evil. Even though the problem of evil has been examined since the beginning of human history, no one has come up with an adequate answer.
Some skeptics say that God causes the problem of evil. This is an insult to God and those who are suffering. Other skeptics say God allows evil and suffering. This is an insult to God.
What God allows is for us to have free choice. Because we have free choice, we can choose evil and suffering.
I confess I do not know the answer totally because I do not know the mind of God. But I do believe and trust in God. Our Catholic faith teaches, as do many other Christian faiths, that our God is a God of Mercy, not a God of evil or punishment.
Today’s gospel introduces us to the patron saint of skeptics, the Apostle Thomas. As Thomas states, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in His hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
God has to have a special place in his loving heart for “honest skeptics” who are willing to open themselves up to the truth. Thomas was such a person, and this allowed him to boldly proclaim, “My Lord and my God.”
Unequivocally, Thomas makes an earth-shattering confession of faith and bluntly states the Divinity of Christ. He is Lord and God. While all the gospel writers mention that Jesus handpicked Thomas to be an apostle, it is only in John’s Gospel that we hear how courageous and curious Thomas is. But we don’t remember Thomas for that.
Listen to what is written earlier, in Chapter 11 of John:
Jesus had just finished raising Lazarus from the dead and the people began to believe he was the Messiah. Jesus was going to Jerusalem where it would be death to Jesus. “Then Thomas known as the twin said to the other ‘Let us go so that we may die with Him.’”
How different is that from Chapter 14 of John, which is about an inquisitive Thomas who wants to learn the truth?
Thomas wasn’t there for the first appearance in the upper room, but he was there for the second. I like that Jesus didn’t blame Thomas for his doubting, for his questioning. Even Jesus had doubts “If this is possible let it pass from me.” I must admit that I am suspicious and apprehensive of people who say that they have never had doubts.
It is all right to doubt, but in our discipleship, we must move beyond doubt.
There are those people who never question their faith. I am not one of them. I strongly believe that authentic faith begins with intellectual honesty and that doubt can actually be the bedrock of true faith.
I also like it that Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen yet still believe.” This is us, you and I believe without having seen. I don’t know how that makes you feel, but it is a source of great comfort to me.
I like that description of myself and hope you like it too. “Blessed are you….”
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