First Sunday after Easter, April 19th, 2020
In the Twentieth Chapter of St. John's Gospel, the evangelist tells us when the disciples were gathered together after Our Blessed Lord had been crucified and laid to rest in the tomb. St John relates in verse 19 that "the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews." Our Lord appeared to them and we can only imagine their utter shock and disbelief if we were in their position at that time. After after Our Blessed Saviour had greeted them, St John tells us: " . . . . He shewed unto them His hands and His side. "
How often when we are in disbelief about something . . . anything . . . do we have to show the evidence to show what we are talking about? If we get cut doing something, we run and show the cut. Or if a storm has gone through and knocked down a tree or at the very least knocked down heavy branches, you tell somebody to come and look at this. "Oh, look at that . . . . " As humans, we are physical beings. We see with our eyes. We feel with the touch of our hands. We hear with our ears. We want to experience something first hand by seeing it for ourselves. Our Lord knew this and this is why He showed the disciples His wounds. He wanted them to see with their own eyes the "evidence" that it was Him.
In our own life . . . for those of us who claim the name of "Christian," . . . . . the question remains how do we show the "evidence" of our faith? As mentioned above, we are able to see with our eyes, for example, the result of a storm . . . or a car crash. We can see the fruit of our labour when we work hard on a project and we see it after completion. Such as building an addition on a house, cleaning and organizing a room, etc. We can see the results with our eyes with examples such as those mentioned. But how do we "see" a person's faith? Faith is definitely something that is internal to each one of us. Faith itself is not something that we can "see" physically with our eyes. And yet the faith that we have inside of us. The faith that we have internally that demonstrates our love for God. This same faith is translated into action. The way that we treat others. The way that we are moved with compassion. The things that we do for others around us that are less fortunate. These are all examples of how we can "see" faith.
As human beings, we want to "see the evidence," we want to see with our own eyes. Let us all work on "showing" others our love of God. Let others see how much we love God by how we live our lives. As I often say in my sermons, the majority of people that you encounter this week probably do not ever go to church. For those people they will only see the face of Christ as it is found in you. If this is true, what will the world see?
PLEASE NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, April 19th, 2020.
St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak. Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations. But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father. Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones. Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times. Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online. So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
And please remember that you can still show support to St. Margaret Church by sharing these posts on social media . . . sharing the sermons and reflections of Fr. Todd on social media as well. In this way, despite any sort of "lock-down," you will help St. Margaret Church continue to spread the Gospel and continue to tell the world about our love for Our Blessed Saviour!
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