Called to Faith and Community

Scripture Reflection for the Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday) (May 1, 2011)

Scripture Readings:
Acts 2:42-47
Psalm 118
1 Peter 1:3-9
John 20:19-31

As I was reading over the readings for this weekend, I realized that the Gospel mentioned the scripture verse that was used during a TEC retreat I recently helped lead. “As the Father sends me, so I send you” was a verse heard and seen all throughout the first weekend of April at the Alverna Center of Saint Mary’s University of MN. For those not familiar, TEC stands for Teens Encounter Christ, or in the college world, Together Encountering Christ. It is a three day retreat centered on the Paschal Mystery: Jesus’ Passion, Death, and Resurrection. It is fitting then, that the theme of each day of TEC is Die, Rise, and Go respectively. Die day talks about what holds us back from following Christ and being all that we can be. Rise day talks about what we can do to live more like how Christ has called us to live. Finally, Go day centers around affirming that the TEC community is standing behind and with all those who go forth to proclaim the gospel in daily life. In reading this Sunday’s Gospel, I was immediately taken back to that weekend and was flooded with memories of fun, solemn, and also unsettling times.

But I think this week’s readings work in sync with each other. The Gospel is calling us to believe in Christ as the Christ, the anointed one of God. We are called to believe this not because we have seen Him as Thomas so required but rather because we have heard the news of His news in the Gospels. Just as I wrote several times in an exegesis on Luke’s Parable of the Ten Coins for my Old Testament course this semester, this kind of belief requires a certain leap of faith, especially in today’s year 2011 where Jesus is not physically present, wounds and all. I must admit that at certain points in my life, some more recently than others, there have been times when I have doubted that there can be a God of love. Of course there are many arguments as to the existence of God, but I am continually called back to believe in Him when I recall that 21 centuries of people have kept the words and teachings of this man alive. My own parents, whom I’ve grown to love beyond imagination, have passed these awesome teachings onto me. How can I simply leave them by the wayside when they came from such dedicated, loving, and responsible people? Immediately my faith was affirmed just because I believe in what I have been told. I then look back on my experiences of missionary work throughout the US and the world, and I realize that God exists in the lowliest places in these areas. He’s in the Honduran cooks who put together meals for 30 hungry high school student-volunteers. He’s present every time we break bread together and remember Him and His sacrifice. He’s present in each person I walk by and avoid eye contact with and in so many other places.

One of the most incredible attributes of being a student at Saint Mary’s is the sense of community present in each student, faculty and staff member, and alum. During the weekend of TEC, we had a freshman student die very suddenly. Millie was very popular on our small campus and was the type of person who could clear clouds over anyone’s shoulder. When we were fronted with the sad news by one of the University’s vice presidents, the entire room, close to 100 TECites, team members, and TEC alumni, froze in shock. We were in just about to begin one of TEC’s biggest traditions and instead of grouping together to celebrate the wonderful fun packed world of TEC, we grouped together in tears and sorrow. For the next week, Saint Mary’s showed its true Lasallian colors as people from all across campus came together to join in Millie’s memory. A mark of any Lasallian community is just that: its sense of community. All that week, and until this day, I praise God for how blessed I am to be part of such a great family. This community is not unlike the TEC community formed every spring and fall all over the country as regions begin to hold their retreats.

Nor is it unlike the community described in the first reading of this weekend’s liturgy. In ancient times, society was built around a more collectivistic culture rather than the individualistic culture of today. In those times, everyone knew each other, supported one another, and was present at all times to the needs of the community. It was a culture of, as the famous three musketeers would say, “all for one, and one for all.” This is the type of community God calls us to create, par take in, and protect for all time. One to which people are present to each other in good times and in bad, in which people can feel safe and unthreatened, one to which people share for the good of all. This is how God calls us to live: in equality and love, as a family. We are called to believe in Him as the one true Savior who has come to lift the burdens of the world through community and love.

So, how can we live out these calls to belief and community? Well, the easiest way is to start by surrounding yourself with people who are already living in such ways if you have not already done so. One need only follow their example in living daily life. Next, spread the word and recruit new people to your community. Through your actions and inactions, people will see God through you and believe. Of course, much of this may require some stepping out of comfort zones and into unfamiliar territory, but it is nonetheless what we are called to by God. Can we accept that joyful and glory-filled cross?

(Image by: www.BiblePictureGallery.com)