I am a member of a Faith Formation group called Be Formed. It is organized by the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois and primarily run by Father Burke Masters. The topic of the session this year has been The Mass, specifically the Liturgy of the Eucharist. As part of the program there is a weekly small group discussion where we review and give our thoughts on the various topics and subject matter for that previous week. During one of our discussions the topic of St. Peter came up. We were going over his denial of knowing Jesus and the question I had was why was it that Peter seemed so brave in the garden of Gethsemane, to the point of cutting off the ear of one a member of the mob, but then a short time later denied that he was among Jesus’ followers.
There was a variety of opinions as to why this might have been. One that I found interesting came from Eva. She observed that when Peter cut off the ear of the servant in the garden, Peter was with Jesus and the other apostles. He was not alone. He had a community of believers to support him. However, during Jesus’ trial, he was alone with his accusers. He did not have the support of his fellow disciples and the leadership of Jesus. The power of community is strong and it gave Peter strength when in the garden but no such energy when alone in the courtyard. He did not have the courage when alone to speak the truth.
And this dichotomy is seen in today’s readings. Let’s start with exploring the Gospel reading. The scene is set for early Sunday morning following the resurrection. Mary Magdalen and Solome get to the tomb to find Jesus gone but He then appears to Mary. She is the first to see the resurrected Jesus. Her initial fear turns to excitement and she makes a bee line for the apostles to tell them the good news. But the apostles do not believe her.
Later that day, the Lord appears to two disciples while they are walking on the Road to Emmaus. Excited, they run back to Jerusalem to tell the apostles what they had seen. They anticipated that they would be received with joy. Instead, the apostles do not believe them. They will not believe unless they see the Resurrected Jesus for themselves. And they continue to wait in an isolated room for fear of being discovered. Presumably, Peter and John are in the room with them.
It is not until Jesus appears to them in the room that they are willing to believe that it is really Him and He has been raised from the dead. The community of faith, with Jesus at the head, has been restored. He still trusts, has confidence in, the apostles because He then tells then to go out and tell the Good News that is the Gospel. The apostles receive the spark that is needed to help set them on fire for the Lord. This flame will not reach its true potential until after the Lord has ascended and the Holy Spirit comes to them at Pentecost. But the wheels are set in motion.
In today’s second reading from Acts, we see the fruit of Jesus’ confidence in the apostles. Peter and John have cured a crippled man and word has gotten back to the Sanhedrin and they have the two arrested and brought before them. The elders rebuke Peter and John telling them to no longer preach in the name of Jesus. Because the two are seen as “uneducated” in the Law, the assumption is that they will be intimidated by the council and will cease as followers of Christ. Instead, both boldly proclaim that, not only are they unwilling to discontinue their activities, it is actually IMPOSSIBLE for them to do so. They have SEEN Jesus and the truth is overwhelming. They are different people than were those hiding in fear in a locked room.
In the garden on that first Holy Thursday, they had the physical presence of Jesus in their midst and it led to Peter striking a blow for the Lord. Now he and the other apostles have Jesus in the form of the Holy Spirit residing within them. The disciples have each other for strength and they have the Lord, in the form of the Spirit, as their leader.
And we, as a community of believers with Jesus in the Spirit at the head, can likewise do great things. We each have gifts we were given that can be used to tell the world of the beauty of Christ. After all, just a week ago we saw Him in the Resurrection. And may we, as did Peter and John, be bold in proclaiming it. May it actually be IMPOSSIBLE for us not to.
