Pastor's Spiritual Reflections

By Fr. Leo Schneider (4/19)

Dear People of Holy Name,

In today’s gospel there are two main points of interest I’d like to comment on. The first is Jesus’ greeting. When he joins his disciples he greets them saying, “Peace be with you.” Jesus says this three times in today’s passage from John. What he means here is more than an image of still waters, he means communion with God, one’s neighbor, and the earth. Jesus speaks of a peace that brings harmony and communion. Thus, a genuine sign of the Lord’s presence and real faith, is an inner peace born out of faith, hope and trust in God’s goodness.

We do not need to be anxious about our salvation, or going to hell, if we believe in Jesus’ love for us. So when our faith is truly trusting in God’s goodness, we lose our fear. For as St. Paul wrote, “Nothing can separate us from the love of God.” Death itself looses its sting as our faith grows in Jesus as the resurrected Son of God.

Coming to a strong faith in Jesus as the risen Son of God is the second point of interest in today’s gospel. Our teacher here is Saint Thomas. It takes him a while to come to faith in Jesus and he doesn’t do so until he sees the Lord in person. But what is significant is that when he professes his faith it is greater than the others, for he is the first one to acknowledge Jesus as Lord and God! And it is this profession of faith that is the whole point of John’s Gospel and the faith it is intended to inspire us too.

Like Thomas, I think each of us needs to personally encounter the Lord to come to a deeper faith. One thing that helped Thomas is that he stayed in the midst of the disciples who were sharing their experience of the Lord in their lives. In that community Thomas was at least able to have the expectation of encountering the Lord.

When Mary from Magdela reached the tomb and was greeted by two angels who announced that he had been raised, she turned around to see Jesus, but did not recognize him. Not until she hears his voice does she recognize the Good Shepherd. The reason she did not recognize him at first was that she did not expect to see him. So like Thomas, living with the expectation of meeting the Lord readies us to see him in our lives.

As we pray for deeper faith to know the Lord personally in our lives, let us also strive to live with the constant expectation of meeting the Lord in our daily living. I believe doing so will open our eyes to his presence and help us to affirm for our selves that Jesus is our Lord and God. For this let us pray for ourselves and all people.

In Christ’s peace, Fr. Leo