alone, thus unable to believe - 2nd sunday easter B

Our gospel today narrates that when the resurrected Christ revealed himself to the apostles, Thomas was not in the room.  He was not with his fellow apostles.  We really do not know why and the gospel is silent on his reasons?  Probably he was out on an errand or probably he went out to soothe his pain and loneliness.  Probably the room with all those sorrowful and desperate men were just too depressing, too stressful for Thomas.  The point is he separated himself from companions.  He was alone, he was on his own. 

And probably this is the reason why Thomas doubted, why he could not believe that Jesus has risen from the dead. But after a week we see Thomas once again but this time he is with his community and when the risen Lord appeared it was not as hard to believe that indeed Christ is risen and because of that he was the first to utter and acknowledge that indeed Jesus is my Lord and my God. 

Thomas doubted because he separated himself from the community – he was alone, he isolated himself.  Indeed this is tangible proof that we could not grow in the faith alone.  This is tangible proof that we need the community in order to sustain, persevere and even grow in the faith.

In the seminary where I am working as a priest, one of the danger signs that would alert us that something is wrong in a seminarian is when he becomes quiet, aloof and most of the times alone. His preference to separate from the class, or when he constantly shows little patience in being with the community finding them loud, stressful, and irritating, can be symptoms that something is wrong.  Or when he prefers to be out rather than in, when he begins looking for his own group outside the community preferring and enjoying their company more his own, are things that say a lot about him and it may no longer be healthy.  In the context of seminary formation community life is the venue where we grow as a person, where one grows in the faith and where one discovers, nourishes one’s vocation.  

I believe we can also safely say the same in family life.  When a child is more out than in, when a child is more often alone locked in his room, when a child prefers to be alone even during meals or when a child finds more joy and meaning with his phone and gadgets more than he finds joy and meaning with members of his family, then something is wrong – and the wrong may not be only in the child but also in the home.

Community life and family life is important.  Even in parish life it is important.  In the acts of the apostles in our first reading the first Christians were described as a community of believers who were of one heart and mind.  Can we say the same of our parish and our small communities in our barangays.  Are we a communion, are we of one heart and one mind, or nagamasigmasig lang kita.

This is one pastoral initiative in our parish – forming MKK’s , forming ecclesial communities in our barangays.  One tangible effect with this initiative sa aton parokya is every time nga ang miembro sang community have a crisis they come together.  Kon may patay ukon nagamasakit nagabuligay sila.  Sang nagligad may nagistorya sa akon nga sang nagligad kuno nga semana naayawan gid sila kay sa ila barangay dungan gid apat ka minatay.  SO every night they would gather and pray sa panimalay sang minatay – naayawan sila until they told me they divided the group so that it would not be as tiring.  Gamay man lang ni pero it shows us how the risen Lord works in and through the community – bringing consolation and joy and even as sense of belongingness to the individual and the family.

Thomas came only to believe in the risen Lord when he re-joined his community.  This is an eye-opener for us, an acknowledgement that we can only grow in the faith, we can only sustain the faith when we put ourselves in the community where we can help and be helped to grow and persevere in the faith. 

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday.  We pray that by being in communion, by being in community, we may become channels of God’s unending mercy to each other.