IN DEFENSE OF ST. THOMAS

IN DEFENSE OF ST. THOMAS

“The evil men do lives after them.  The good is often interred with their bones.”

(Wm. Shakespeare: Julius Caesar)

Marc Antony was speaking of Julius Caesar, but the words apply to St. Thomas the Apostle as well.  Because Thomas would not take the word of the other disciples, but instead insisted on seeing the risen Lord for himself, he has been dubbed “The Doubter” for centuries.  Whenever his name is mentioned that sobriquet is always added. This is unfair and unjust.  When Mary Magdalene told Peter that Jesus had risen and she had seen him, he dismissed it as the ramblings of a woman and ran to see for himself.  No one has called him a doubter.

Thomas probably regretted his dramatic words about putting his hands in the nail holes, etc., but wanting to see for himself before committing was part of who he was and he couldn’t help that.  I guess I want to defend Thomas because I would have done what he did. I might not have phrased it exactly as he did, but I would have wanted to see for myself.

There is nothing to be done to correct the fact that Thomas will always be identified as the Doubter, however, it is indicative of something else.  Thomas was a victim of gossip as surely as any person, whose actions become common knowledge and by that they are judged.  Can you just hear it?  Someone mentions that Thomas is one of the twelve and someone else says,

“O yes.  Isn’t he the one who didn’t believe Jesus rose?”

Think of it, a close disciple of Jesus, one of the revered twelve, a victim of judgmental gossip for 2000 years.  Perhaps that is why Thomas evangelized in India.  He made his way through the east and finally stopped in India.  There he founded the church and baptized many.  To this day their descendants are known as St. Thomas Christians.

Gossip ought to be regarded as the 8^th deadly sin.  Gossip causes us to sit in judgment on others, which Jesus warned would have repercussions for us. It destroys reputations. It ruins lives and it shrinks the souls of those who spread it. I once quit a job because a co-worker gossiped incessantly about neighbors I knew. I quit when I realized I not only repeated the gossip, I believed it with no evidence what so ever. I quit rather than confront her and I regret that very much.  Today I ask people not to tell me what they are dying to tell.  If I hear it before I can stop it, I tell the person that I wish they had never told me because now I have to live with the knowledge. The Spirit within must cringe every time.   We can’t broadcast our neighbor’s faults, errors and sins and not care what effect it has on their lives, and still call ourselves disciples of Christ.

Blessings

Carol Lemelin OPA

THE FIRE THAT IS GOD

THE FIRE THAT IS GOD

            You have not approached that which could be touched and a blazing fire, gloomy darkness and a storm and trumpet blast and a voice speaking words such that those who heard begged that no further message be addressed to them…Indeed so fearful was the spectacle that Moses said, “I am terrified and trembling”.  No, you have approached God, the judge of all and spirits of the just made perfect, and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant and the blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel.  (Heb. 12:18-24)

            This is at the end of the Letter to the Hebrews and the writer is reminding the Hebrew Christians that God, as shown to them by Jesus, is not the voice so terrible that those who heard it prayed to never hear it again.  Instead, the author reminds them that the voice they hear now is that of Jesus.  He reminds them that the new covenant does not enslave but rather frees and the voice of Jesus sends them forth and can be trusted.   The last line of this chapter states, “Our God is a consuming fire”.

            Is God a consuming fire in us?  He certainly was for the writer and the early apostles and disciples like Paul and Timothy. He has been a consuming fire for Joan of Arc, Bishop Walsh, Dorothy Day, St. Vincent DePaul, Francis of Assisi, Fr. Cunningham and millions of others.  It seems though, that in the ordinary person the voice of God is muted, the volume turned down so that it will not get in the way of doing the things we think are important.

            The twelve, and then the seventy-two were sent out by Jesus to talk to the countryside and spread the good news.  He did not provide a prepared script.  They were expected to follow the sound of his voice and that is what they did.  What’s the difference between them and us?  They had even less to go on, we at least have the entire Gospel, plus the Acts and the Epistles to use as reference and yet we are largely silent.

            We are called.  Those are three simple words, which throw out a challenge that we must meet.  There is no such thing as God and Jesus.  They are one!  One consuming fire, one power, one life within us and yet we keep it hidden. Jesus referenced that the day he said, “you do not light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket, rather you put it on a stand where it might be seen in the dark”. (Matt.5:15)  The dark is all around us, it’s time to light the light that is the Word of God, follow the sound of his voice, and show the world the consuming fire that is God.

Blessings,

Carol Lemelin OPA

MEETING THE CHALLENGE

One of my favorite programs is American Ninja Warriors in which athletes strive to overcome obstacles using their physical strength to win a large money prize. Many people come out to compete but very few make it to the end. They tackle things like the Giant Rolling Log where they catapult themselves in the air to grab a log that is floating above them, then grab a rope and swing to the next obstacle.  The 14 ft. Warp Wall requires they run as fast as possible up the 14ft and go over the top. The Flying Squirrel, which is impossible to describe except to say it’s very, very hard. The Broken Bridge, which they must cross by leaping over widely spaced planks.  In each segment, heading for the final test, the obstacles increase in difficulty.  They train in every way possible but there is no rehearsal for the stage they are trying to conquer. The athletes climb, they run, they jump, they hold on with fingertips as they hang from one disk and  swing toward another.  Every muscle is at work. They try to stay focused on the task at hand all the while knowing the clock is ticking and they have very little time.   When they miss, they land in the water, smile bravely, go home and start training for next year.

Doesn’t that sound a lot like our lives?  Most of the things that take up our lives require focus, preparation, dedication and determination to do our absolute best, like these for example:

Leaping high for something new and then holding on for dear life ₌The Giant Rolling Log.  

That goal you keep trying to reach but seems to get farther away the harder you try = The 14ft Wall

The seemingly impossible task that requires all the strength your head, hands and feet can provide and yet is often too slippery to master= The Flying Squirrel.  

Then we make a mistake and fall in the water. There is no rehearsal for life either. There are the days when it just doesn’t seem worth it. Days when you want to curl up and quit. 

Why do the athletes keep coming back for more; for that matter, why do you?  You do it because you, like them, have hope. “Hope springs eternal in the human breast.” according to Alexander Pope.   Within you is that hope and with it the thread of grace, which God has given you to help you pull your self up, smile bravely and begin again.  Christ lived among us to bring us hope.  He died and rose to prove that there is reason to hope.  There is an endless supply of hope but we must train ourselves to keep it alive. “Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Rom.5:5) Hope will allow us to do all that God requires of us in this life. When a Ninja Warrior achieves the ultimate and is declared the champion, he/she experiences a moment of pure joy. For us, that moment will come when our tasks are finished and we no longer have need of hope, but have finished the race and are at last with God.

Blessings,

Carol Lemelin, OPA

SIMPLICITY

When I was learning to sew, my grandmother encouraged me to find patterns from Simplicity Patterns because they were easy.  You put A with B and sewed the pieces together.  Keep up with that and eventually you had made a dress! Sounded good to me until I realized that nothing is that simple.  You had to read the directions carefully and practice until you were actually ready to sew because tearing out the stitches was-well-never mind. Suffice to say it wasn’t easy.  As a girl trying to learn, the one thing that kept me going was the fact that my grandmother was always nearby to help, direct, correct and praise when I did it right. 

The words of Jesus seem so simple. No equivocation, no ifs, ands, or buts.  They are the heart of his message.   “Love one another, Do good to those who persecute you, Turn the other cheek, If someone asks for your tunic, give them your cloak as well, and Forgive seventy times seven”.  There are more of course and they are all direct and to the point and there can be no misunderstanding their meaning.  

How is it then that those who profess to be his followers don’t get it?  We really want to obey, but between reading the words and doing the deed we are faced with our ego and our free will.  Jesus knew that.  These commands are only the first step in changing the world.  A first step they may be, but they are also a firm foundation on which to stand and continue to try to obey, to think as Jesus thought and to see others as Jesus sees them. 

If we can master that we will not only know peace, we will share it.  Yesterday a woman told me that her dearest friend denies the existence of God.  She looked at me with tears in her eyes and said that if her friend continues to reject God, he will consign her to hell without a second glance.  That took my breath away.  I tried in vain to find the magic words that would counter her belief, but I did not succeed.

It is my firm belief that God rejects no one.  God is all-knowing and every motive for every action we take is fully known to him.  We are his and his love and forgiveness are boundless.  How, though, do I express that belief in a few words?  I don’t have an answer, but this I know, however often I fail, like my Grandmother at sewing lesson, God is beside me to encourage, inspire and fill me with hope in his love.  I pray only I can find a way to say it better and quicker!

Blessings,

Carol Lemelin OPA

WHY DID JESUS WEEP?

“As they drew near, Jesus saw the city spread before him, the beloved city, and said, “If only you knew…” and wept.”  (Luke 19:41-42)

This would have been shocking for those around him. Jesus weeping? How could this be?  Jesus, the calm one, the controlled one was weeping. What better proof do we have of his humanity?  Jesus experienced something that every human does and beyond what it meant at the time, for us it meant we know he understands when we are brought to tears.

As he gazed upon the Holy City, the chances are he felt as though he had failed. When he preached in the countryside, he used parables and agricultural references but when he preached here his approach was quite different.  These listeners were the educated, the knowledgeable, the ones who knew the scriptures and so he laid out for them all the prophecies.  He showed them how it was that he had come to fulfill them and was doing so.  But they were afraid.  They said they wanted a Messiah but they wanted one on their own terms, one they could control.  Many knew in their hearts that he spoke the truth but they were terribly afraid of him.  He would, if allowed to continue, bring change.  They did not want change.  Of course, Jesus knew it and he knew that because they would not change they would continue on the path that would bring destruction to this chosen race.

He spoke from a broken heart when he said, “The days are coming when the enemy will build a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and they will not leave one stone upon another because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”  (Luke 19:43-44) 

The important question for us is, do we make Jesus weep? Are we complacent? Do we resist change? Do we cling to the past and fail to see that our faith must be allowed to grow with the times?  Do we fail to see that the faith Jesus entrusted to us is sufficient for the world in all times and in all circumstances?  Are we self-satisfied?  Do we ask God, “Why don’t you do something?”  But fail to hear his response, “Why don’t you”?

Listen to St. Paul as he addresses the Thessalonians:

Pray without ceasing, in all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.  Do not quench the spirit.  Do not despise prophetic utterances.  Test everything. Retain what is good.  (1 Thess. 5:17-21)

Blessings,

Carol Lemelin, OPA