Thursday in the Octave of Easter

 Lectionary: 264

But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 
Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.”

Preachers of every age have often tried to explain or describe the Lord's Resurrection in words, images, or theories that made sense to their contemporaries. If they tried too hard they found theories that explained everything. Some might say the Lord was resuscitated; he'd not actually died. Others, at the opposite end, said the disciples, despite the trauma of Good Friday, were inspired by God and swept away by a collective imagination. They suddenly understood what the Deceased had been saying and believed that his Spirit was still alive and compelling them to preach. So he was alive in that sense, although nonetheless dead. 

A third, more lasting, theory proposed that Jesus's body had been truly raised up miraculously and with new, astonishing skills. He could pass through locked doors and disappear into thin air. But after the Ascension his body finally evaporated or dissolved; it was completely absorbed into His divinity like a drop of ink in the ocean. 

This third explanation made him eminently relatable. Jesus is neither Jew nor gentile; Asian, European or African; red, yellow, black, or white; male or female. He is the Lord of all time and of no time. He is physically whatever you want him to be because his humanity doesn't really matter, and his physicality is no more. He may be known by every age since he doesn't exist in time. He is a Spirit and anyone can be inspired by the Lord Jesus. 

The theory explained why the disciples were so excited on that Easter Sunday, and why he doesn't appear anymore. They saw and were convinced and went out to tell everyone about what they had seen and heard. But he would not reappear to confute hostile skeptics or overwhelm persecuting tyrants. That day had passed.  

This third explanation, known as monophysitism, was condemned by the Council of Chalcedon in 451. And, like any good heresy, it persists to this day. We saw its most ludicrous manifestation on January 6, 2021. Though some of the rioters carried dangerous weapon, most believed their sincerity would interrupt the government machinery and the former president's lies would be recognized as Truth. In other words, the truth is like the Lord's human nature, whatever you want it to be. 

The Church, in the spirit of Chalcedon, can point to today's gospel as we remember the Lord's physical nature. We cannot and need not explain how he rose from the dead, nor how he got through locked doors. But it helps to remember that, on that first Easter evening, the Lord personally demolished their theory -- "they thought they were seeing a ghost" -- by impressing them with his very real flesh. He even ate with them -- "They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them" -- something which ghosts don't ordinarily do.

Why is this relevant? It does matter what you believe. I met a self-described Baptist in the VA who assured me his Baptist preacher had told him he need not attend Church. But the minister had not explained how the Lord would challenge his bad habits and racist attitudes in the absence of fellow Christians. TV, newspapers, or social media might warn him, but they are easily dismissed. He was "free" to believe and say and do whatever truth he liked with the assurance that, "God loves you anyway." 

I found it hard to imagine why a Baptist preacher would make such a stupid remark; but if he did he echoed what the majority of Americans believe: that truth doesn't matter. It's whatever you think. The consumer is always right, even when they're consuming bad religion.  

In the Spirit of Chalcedon, the Church maintains its authority over the faithful, including the Pope, the prelates, and those in the pew. If it is a spiritual authority, it is nonetheless real. We dare not believe that elective abortion is acceptable, or that suicide is always an option. We accept and ponder the mysteries of Trinity, Incarnation, and Grace. We delight in the Lord's transubstantial presence in the Blessed Sacrament. We accept the teaching authority of the Church which the Lord invested in Peter and his successors. We thank God for the obligation to attend Sunday Mass and would not miss it for the world. We confess our real sins to a priest.    

We're not pretending that we believe. Our thoughts, words, and deeds prove our faith. They occur in real time and have real consequences. Because the Risen Lord really is Our Savior.