[Propertalk] 2 Easter b 2018 - part 1 b

[Robert P Morrison]

The second part of the first part, if you follow...
Bob

	 Did they understand what was happening, what all was going on? Of
course not, but Jesus’ appearance was enough to give them the
strength, then energy, the confidence, the insight to know that they
had to work together, that they had to be open to new experiences, as
well as all sorts of people. It was failure to accept and to engage
this that led to problems in the early church just as much as it does
toney – to the diminishment of the church’s witness to God’s
loving power and compassion. 

	 The disciples, consciously or not, built on that embryonic church so
that, within the space of a week, Thomas was able to find his peace
and to become a participant in the growth of Christianity, to become a
vital part of civilization. 

	 Did this mean that everything was rosy from that first Sunday
evening on? Of course not. For one thing, we know that arguments and
disappointments then, just as today, are never far below the surface.
Disputes, cliques, pushing and pulling in order to try to gain
prestige – all of these were present form the very beginning, and
continue to this very morning.  

	 It’s not JUST about Jesus’ Presence. It’s also about who
believes she or he has been given Jesus’ Power, who will have the
ultimate authority. 

	 Picture yourself during those first eight days after the
resurrection. The ten could have declared themselves to be the
superior one of the group. “WE’VE been at this longer than you,
Thomas. WE held things together for that first week and more while you
weren’t in the picture, for whatever reason you weren’t there. And
even when you were there, you wouldn’t give anyone a break from all
those interminable questions. 

	 “If it weren’t for us, Thomas, everything might have fallen
apart.” 

	 But a couple of quotes from Stephen Hawking seem to offer a
corrective to thinking like that. 

	 “Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change,” Hawking said
at his Oxford University graduation. 

	 Later, he said, “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance,
it is the illusion of knowledge.” 2 

	 Accept these, as the disciples did, and you find yourself well on
the way to helping to build up such trust that civilisation can not
only continue, but flourish. 

	 Thank goodness, the ten, no matter how else they felt, didn’t
sideline Thomas. They didn’t push themselves to the forefront and
claim that it was because of them that the Gospel survived.
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