Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Easter: Am I Real To You?

3^rd Sunday of Easter, B                                                                                               April 18, 2021
Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette

Am I real to you? If we would continue our journey into joy, we have to answer this question from Jesus. Am I real to you? The Apostles evidently had their own struggles to accept it. Jesus appears to them and they think it is a ghost, a detached spirit. But it is not so! Jesus is real, his body is real, and he wants to prove it so we can be witnesses to it.

He shows his hands and feet to prove that it is the same body that died on the cross. He invites them to touch and know that this same body is real and tangible. He eats in front of them to prove that his body, dead just two days ago, is alive just as much as their own bodies. In fact, he is more alive, super-alive if you will. And it is contact with his super-alive body that brings greater life to our own. It is that life which brings joy. How, then? How do we make Christ’s body real enough to us to change us, to make us like his body? Belief, conversion, and contact.

Do you believe? We recite the creed every Sunday, just as we’re about to do in a few minutes. Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God. He really died, and that he really rose from the dead. Do you believe it? Really believe it? Or is it an abstract idea? A few memorized words? The Apostles struggled with doubt even with him right there.

How did they solve that problem? Jesus “opened their minds to understand the scriptures.” Christianity did not come out of the blue. It is not some set of ideas floating around like a spirit without a body. For thousands of years, God has been at work in the world. That story, told throughout the Old Testament, was constantly hinting at the full story of Jesus Christ. Again and again and again, people and events and prophecies in the Old Testament refer to Jesus Christ and his teachings in hidden ways. We call it “typology,” the study of hidden connections between Jesus and the Old Testament.

But the Jews of Jesus’ day couldn’t see it. Even the Apostles didn’t quite see it. Not until Jesus “opened their minds.” This is not a throwaway line. Jesus actually changed their mind’s ability to recognize the truth. He gave them the Holy Spirit, he gave them the gift of faith. Faith is not just agreeing with some idea. It is the supernatural ability to know something we couldn’t figure out on our own. Faith is a spiritual gift that enables us to see and understand the truth in a deeper way. With this gift, the Apostles’ minds were truly opened to see not just ideas, but the bodiliness of God’s plan. It made the truth real to them. If you want the life and joy of Christ, seek out belief. Ask for the gift of faith. Pray “I believe, help my unbelief” when you are struggling. Read scripture! Don’t just read it but pray and then read it. Ask God to open your minds, much like we do by signing ourselves at the beginning of the Gospel.

Then, seek conversion. All three readings stress this today. “…that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached…” “Repent, therefore, and be converted.” “Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is expiation for our sins.” The truth becomes real to us through faith, through scripture, but especially through acting on it. Repentance and forgiveness make the faith real. As St. John puts it, “The way we may be sure that we know [Jesus Christ] is to keep his commandments” and “if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father.” Jesus, that resurrected advocate, brings his body into heaven to plead for our forgiveness if only we take him seriously enough to ask.

And of course, especially on this weekend when we celebrate First Communion for the children of our parish, we must make contact with Christ’s body. Yes, this means receiving communion in a state of grace. It means doing so with reverence and attention. When Jesus appeared to the Apostles, “they were startled and terrified.” They were not bored and distracted. Could you imagine if Jesus appeared and Bartholomew just yawned and checked his phone? Or if Peter just walked away early to beat the traffic at the market?

Every time we celebrate Mass, Christ appears to us saying “peace be with you.” He is truly present to us, inviting us to belief, conversion and contact with him. Do we act like it? If we take the Mass for granted, the Eucharist for granted… if we walk up, absent-mindedly pop the host in our mouths and languidly walk back to the pew wondering what time it is… what does that say about how much we care? What does that say about our belief? Why would we expect that to bring us life and joy? This is a good occasion to reflect on that and to resolve to make a more genuine effort to treat the Eucharist as it is: the living Body of Christ, come back from the dead for us.

But the body of Christ is not just the consecrated host. We are the body of Christ. The reason that virtual Masses and podcast homilies aren’t enough is the same reason that Jesus is not a ghost. The body is real and it is present to us. If we do not make ourselves present to his body the Church, then we should not be surprised that he seems less and less real to us. This means community for more than that 1 hour a week. I emphasized it last week and it will be a recurring them this season. We need our community to be real and bodily, not just virtual and ghostly.

Getting together outside of Mass for celebrations, for meals, for service… these are crucial to the joy offered by Easter. A healthy community is formed not just in large groups, but in small groups that support each other. Husband, wife, and children are the basic unit of this, but we all need to share experiences and burdens with people beyond that. Small groups can be built on particular groups – working men, single young people – or focusing on particular topics like bible studies and books. But they are a practical way to make the body of Christ seem a little more bodily, to make Christ more real to us.

Am I real to you? As your pastor, am I real to you, or just a quasi-mythical public figure? Is Jesus working through me real to you? Is his presence in the Eucharist and other sacraments real? His presence in other members of this parish real? If you would know more joy, I invite you, challenge you to make it real. Believe – learn the story and ask for faith. Convert – make faith real by fighting against sin. Contact – reach out to meet others in Christ so you can meet Christ in others.

Jesus Christ is real and he wants witnesses. Are you one of them?