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Second Sunday of Easter – C
Acts 5:12-16, Rev. 1:9-19. John 20: 19-31
April 15, 2007
Fr. Carl McCarthy
Thomas did not believe the Lord was alive. He told
the disciples, “Unless I see the marks of the nails in his hands and put
my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not
believe.” There is a piece of Thomas in all of us. We all have doubt and
fear. But will we continue disbelieving, or we will step out of our fear
and see that our lives can be different? Maybe this lighthearted story can
help us overcome our darkness.
A colony of frogs
once lived in a deep well. There in the deep, dark well, they lived in
peace. The only threat to their happy existence was a bucket that was
lowered into the well to draw water every morning. As soon as they heard
the screech of the pulley, the frogs would cling to the side of the well
until the danger passed.
One day, a young frog,
after holding onto the wall for dear life, looked up and saw a bright
light coming from above the well. He also felt the warmth of an occasional
ray of brightness that filtered through the murky waters. He began to
wonder if the bucket, instead of being a sign of danger, could be an
opportunity.
With this knowledge, the young
frog decided that he must explore his options. The elder frogs thought
that he was crazy. He told him that this had never been done before. “It
will be the end of the colony of frogs if you go outside the walls of the
well,” they warned.
But the young frog had made up
his mind to leave the well. The next time he heard the sound of the
pulley, he crouched in the right place and jumped into the bucket, which
raised him into the light above. The elders forbid anyone to talk about
him.
Months passed, and no one said
a word about the young frog. Then, one day the frogs heard a familiar
croak from above, and there sat the young frog. Another frog appeared by
his side, as well as seven baby frogs.
The young frog told his old
friends, “There is a great world waiting for you up here. The water runs
clear; there is soft green grass and sunlight and bugs to eat. There are
many other frogs like us here; see, I even married one of them.
The elder frogs reminded the
young frog that he was a defector, and that if ever came down to them, he
would be punished. The young frog said he had no intention of returning to
the dark well, and he hopped away with his family. The elders again forbid
the other frogs to talk about what had happened.
The next morning, when
the pulley sounded, the younger frogs perched themselves in just the right
spot, and when the bucket was lowered they all jumped in and headed for
the light.
Life is full of disappointments, hard knocks, and fears that
can drive us to the safe, but isolated and lonely places of our dark
wells. We may not be hard-hearted, but we sometime have difficulty with
change and with anything new. We would rather stay where life is
comfortable and predictable.
At some point or another, we have all been doubting Thomas.
Thomas has given everything that he has to Jesus, thinking that Jesus
would save him, and as it happens, Jesus is brutally killed and placed in
a stone cold tomb. Now when his friends tell him that Jesus is alive, he
fears opening his heart back up; he remains in the dark and closed off to
the new joy of the resurrection.
Yet Thomas risked, and when he let his guard down, he
experienced the resurrection. The tomb of darkness was lifted from him as
he stepped forward and came to see the light of Christ in a new way. The
same transformation can happen with us if we only step forward, put aside
our doubts, and come to believe that the resurrection of Jesus will still
happen for us today. The light of the resurrection does live on; all we
need to do is have faith and believe.
sdrose@bellsouth.net
7-15-2007
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