When do we say Enough? (4th in Series) 

We have been examining the effect that the death of Jesus had on his band of brothers, the Apostles, with a special emphasis on Thomas. Thomas appeared to take the death very badly, so much so that he pulled away from the group altogether. It is interesting to observe the reactions of people on the occasion of the death of a loved one. Some people appear to need the group of friends around to support and buoy them up. Others seem to have the opposite approach... they can’t stand to have the crowd around... they want to grieve/mourn alone. They may be dealing with issues of anger, loneliness, distress, isolation, despondency, a sense of being abandoned. Whatever their feelings they just want to be alone, to work through this experience in their own way. Who knows how long this may take... there is not some set time, or number of days, allocated for this mourning period. Usually the movement is changed by either some human or divine intervention, and sometimes these are one and the same. In Thomas’ case it was a little of both... encountering the other apostles who proclaimed “We have seen the Lord.”  Thomas’ response was “Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands, and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into His side, I refuse to believe”.  

Then a week later Jesus provides Thomas exactly what he demands in order for him to believe. Jesus said : “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas instantaneously overcomes his grief, his resistance, and his unbelief.

This is a great connection to the gospel of this weekend : “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” This is Jesus’ clear response to Thomas’ plight, and the plight of all of the other apostles, as well as our daily and weekly struggles. “Without me you can do nothing.”  While each and every one of us knows that at some level in our lives, we find it extraordinarily hard to trust it and put it into practice. We seem to be much more attuned to the idea of ‘drive on’... just keep going... maybe this will come out right anyway in the end... and indeed quite often it does, but usually not without human and divine intervention.   

Why are we so resistant to his invitation? The apostles had this same struggle and they were with him all of the time. They had been to all of His workshops, all of His presentations, all of his instruction, they heard all of His teaching and yet they had the same difficulty ‘remaining in Him’, just as you and I do. So we might conclude that it is not a lack of knowledge that causes our plight, or our unwillingness to surrender to Him. So what is it? Is it Original Sin ? Rebelliousness ? Refusal to Surrender ? Self-Determination? Lack of Faith/Trust? Desire to do it My Way? or that I want to be My Own God ?  

These make for some agonizing questions in our personal lives! Why do we keep resisting His invitation? Would it not be easy and manageable, if we could accept that we are branches, that we are not the Vine? He is the Vine……. And in Him “All things come together for Good.” Instead we wind up with excuses, rationalizations, denial, pretending, regret, disappointment, and telling stories to cover our fear. It is just so difficult sometimes to face the truth, to trust another with our struggle?  

A priest was going from the United States to Latin America. On the plane he found himself sitting beside a woman from Peru. The woman told him how she was returning home with her mother who had undergone three operations in the United States. “Is your mother feeling better now?” He asked. “Oh yes” the woman replied. “She’s completely cured. All of her family will be waiting at the airport to welcome her back.” Then the woman asked him why he was going south. He told her that he was a priest and was going there to do missionary work. On hearing that he was a priest her face changed dramatically. She leaned over, took him by the arm, and whispered in an agonized voice, “Oh Father, my mother has cancer, and there is no hope for her.” 

Why did that woman have to keep up the pretense that all was well? Why did she have to hide, not only the mortal physical wounds of her mother, but her own and her family’s emotional wounds as well. They were not something to be ashamed of, those wounds were caused by love. Perhaps when she found out he was a priest she felt relief and hope, which provided her the security to tell her truth.  

Jesus the High Priest was proud of his wounds. He was happy to share them, to let them be seen and touched. It was a sign of His Love.  Jesus is saying : “Enough. Enough unnecessary suffering!” He is saying to us, as He did to Thomas, “Come on out of your self-made Tomb, touch my wounds and let me touch yours, Believe, Do not persist in your unbelief!  I am the Vine you are the branches, without me you can do nothing.” 

May we be branches that endure the changes of Fall, the hardship of Winter, may we relish the Springtime of new growth, and appreciate the warmth of Summer. May we be branches that bear fruit... and bear it abundantly! 

Fr. Gerry