Thoughts from the Second Floor Front II Sunday of Easter
April 11, 2021
Throughout the Passion Narrative the Twelve are no where to be seen. Abandoning Him at Gethsemane they scattered. Once the crucifixion had taken place they were hiding in holy fear until the moment which we hear proclaimed in the Gospel passage at Mass today. They were hiding in the Upper Room; gone to ground, hunkered down and cowering in fear. Then He appeared and without fully realizing that He was doing it, let alone understanding why, He said it: Shalom. In possession of the peace His forgiveness alone can give they were inspired to leave the Upper Room and, as we shall hear about eight weeks from now, they were empowered to preach the Kerygma – Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
We can think about the Twelve hiding in the Upper Room and only emerging when they had been empowered by the Holy Spirit of Jesus in a manner that is analogous to our experience. We too have been hiding ourselves away. But it was not from fear of reprisal from the Roman Authorities or the Jewish Leadership. We were hiding from the COVID and as a result we were also hiding from our family and neighbors. Given permission to forgo the Sunday obligation for Public Worship we have, again in an analogous way, been trying to hide from God. Think of the interaction with God and the proto-parents in the third chapter of Genesis. It went something like this: The LORD God then called ….and asked: Where are you? [They] answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid… so I hid.” Those first people hid in fear. The Twelve hid in fear. We have to admit that we have also hidden in fear. At the time, the isolation made sense. But I have to ask: Does it still make sense? I am not condemning anyone for their decision to be in isolation for we all have to deal with this as best we can. You’ve been in the Wegman’s and the Giant and the Ac-a-mee – as we say in South Philly. Why not Church? There is a term for this phenomenon, called FOGO, Fear Of Going Out.
It works like this: The first week you miss Mass you have a sense that something is wrong, that something is out of step, you’ve missed something. That sense will stay with you for a week or two. But by the end of the first month the uneasy but unnamed sense that something is off, something is not quite right, fairly fades away all together. Sadly, what was once embraced as sacred ritual is seen as expendable routine.
It was so very heartening, refreshing and uplifting to see so many in Church for Easter Sunday Masses. Easter is a time of renewal. We watch as nature renews itself; that tree and plant which appears to have died over the cold harsh days of winter now begins to shake in the breeze enlivened by the wind in its branches. We are renewed in the power and Grace of the Resurrection. Like the disciples in the Acts of the Apostles we are to be about the business of the Kingdom, collaborating with the Grace and strength available to us so that the Kingdom may become more visible in our world. Once they left the Upper Room leaving behind their fear and worry, they manifested a commitment to the Good News. The same Good News that empowered them to leave their hiding and venture out. It is my hope that the Good News we celebrate each Sunday will work through our own people to venture out; be back and be present to each other and to the Risen Christ as we continue to celebrate Jesus’s victory.