Sermon Cloud

Still fresh from the celebrations of Easter Sunday, just a week ago, we continue to rejoice during these days as we hear once again the stories of the first Easter day.  The account spoken of in the first reading today (Acts 2:42-47) speaks of the early church in rather celebratory tones.  Even in those early days, the practice of gathering to share the sacred meal was central to the life of the believers.  From this meal, and the strength of support from others who had come to believe, they too were able to continue sharing the good news of Jesus and all that he had done.

Belief in the resurrection allows us, as it did them, the ability to comfort those who mourn.  With the assurance of faith, we look at death not as a punishment, but as a reunion with the One who first loved us.  When all is said and done though, we humans are often much more like doubting Thomas (Jn 20:24-25) rather than the other disciples or the collective of the early Church.

Doubt and belief go hand in hand, because questions about life and death, about God and his sometimes mysterious ways cannot be explained by human reasoning or by science.  At times such as these, all we can do is believe.

In case you haven’t heard the news yet, Catholics in Iraq are in mourning.  On February 29 of this year, after having presided at the celebration of the Stations of the Cross, the Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul was kidnapped along with his driver and two others.  Shortly after the kidnapping, the other three were killed by their captors.  Iraqi Catholics were immediately plunged into doubt and fear.  They gathered in local churches all over the world to pray for Archbishop Rahho and pleas went out from all corners of the globe for his release.  Two weeks later, his captors revealed the place where they had buried his mortal remains.

Iraq has long been a place of tension especially for Christians who try to live their faith, but the reality of kidnapping and senseless death are usually unknown in this part of the world.  I wonder whether the celebrations of the Easter Triduum brought solace or understanding to any of those who are mourning the Archbishop’s death.

On the day following the discovery of his body, a funeral was held in Mosul.  News reports say that it was a very emotional gathering.  Other memorial Masses were held in other parts of the world as well, allowing Iraqi Catholics to gather like the disciples did in the wake of the death of Jesus, to strengthen one another in faith and to look to one another for answers as they try to come to grips with the reality that one of their beloved leaders has been taken from them.

In his homily during the funeral liturgy in Mosul, Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly wept for his friend, but he also called mourners to follow a path of peace.  ‘The people of the Church,’ he said, ‘should be self-restrained and patient’.  Self restraint and patience are difficult virtues to live when one is in mourning, but these words are perhaps modern-day repetitions of Jesus’ words to his disciples as he appeared to them on that first Easter day, ‘Peace be with you’ (Jn 20:19).

Let us pray this week for Catholics in Iraq.  May their mourning be transformed into the joy that the apostles knew on that Easter night.  Like Thomas, may their doubts be transformed into belief and may the living hope (1 Pe 1:3) granted by the Father help them and us to witness the power of the resurrection.