Rev. James A. Wallace, C.Ss.R.

Jan 14 2025

Thomas, Our Twin

It is easy to feel superior to Thomas until you realize that he represents just about every person who has ever paused a moment to ask him or herself: do I really believe? Do I still believe as I used to? And some combination of your heart and mind responds: I’m not sure. Be assured, this is not the end of the world.

Thomas stood there and told the rest of the apostles, “I don’t, won’t, can’t accept this wild tale you are telling me.” When Jesus appeared again, he didn’t yell or get all bent out of shape about Thomas’ doubts. He invited Thomas to touch his wounds and then asked him to believe (perhaps indicating that even touching the wounds might not be enough). Then he had a word for all others who would be disciples in the future: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” (John 20:29).

Everyone since that select group in the beginning has come to believe on the strength of another’s word. Perhaps it was a parent or friend or teacher or some religious figure. Perhaps it was a book, a movie, or even a television show. Sometimes the invitation to believe comes out of the blue—a soul-shattering event, an unexpected experience; sometimes, from within—an inner restlessness, a seeking after answers to life’s questions. But when the invitation to believe comes, it calls for a leap. It comes down to an act of trust in the word of another, ultimately in the word of God.

Consider/Discuss

Who or what called you to faith in Jesus as your Lord and God?
How have you called others to faith? Are you being asked to do so at this time?

Responding to the Word

We need to remember that faith is a gift. We do not earn it and we do not receive it as a matter of a birthright. So it is good to pray for faith: that the Lord increase it; that it not be tested beyond what we, with God’s grace, can bear; and that we persevere in faith.

Jan 14 2025

Resurrection Happens Now

Some say we are only a series of neurons that come together for a little while and eventually decompose; in the meantime, the purpose of life is to have as pleasant a time as possible. A rather limiting vision, no? Easter is my starting point for rebuttal.

Easter calls us to include resurrection in our vision of life. This is not always easy. It wasn’t when it first happened. You can see why Mary Magdalene, seeing that the stone had been removed, would conclude that the body had been stolen. And you can understand how Peter never got beyond seeing a bunch of burial cloths over in the corner without concluding Jesus was raised. Only the beloved disciple “saw and believed” (John 20:8).

We are never told what the tipping point was for the beloved disciple. Was it all those times resting his head near Jesus, watching, listening . . . and knowing? Resurrection experiences have a long history. If you have had a relationship that you thought was totally over come back to life, you know that resurrection happens. If you have had an experience of going nowhere with a project, then it suddenly kicks in, you know that resurrection happens. If you know someone held captive by an addiction and see them break free and begin the process of recovery, you know resurrection happens.

Easter invites us to consider our experiences of resurrection and move to the conclusion: resurrections have been happening for a long time. It’s just a matter of seeing and believing.

Consider/Discuss

Have you had any resurrection experiences lately?
What does it mean to you that you share in resurrection life even now?

Responding to the Word

We pray through Jesus, God’s Son, whose resurrection was the Father’s answer to death and violence. Jesus is the Word of God, the last word of God’s unconditional love for us. There is one very simple response to this: Alleluia! Praise God!

Jan 14 2025

Jesus’ Last Journeys

Today’s Gospel before the blessing of the palms presents an exuberant scene. Imagine the large crowd just outside Jerusalem spreading their cloaks on the road, breaking off palm fronds, strewing them about and waving them as Jesus passes by. Hear the people shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” As Jesus enters the city, the people there are asking, “Who is this?” The crowd accompany

ing him answers: “This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth of Galilee. This is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” A journey of joy.

But a few days later Jesus took his last journey: a winding walk from the upper room on Thursday night out to the garden to Gethsemane, then to the house of Caiaphas, on to Pilate’s house and courtyard, and, finally, to the hill of Calvary. During this time, he was spat on and struck, stripped, scourged, and crowned with thorns; he was denounced, mocked, and ridiculed. Most likely some of the same crowd that cried out “Hosanna” cried out, “Crucify him!” It ended with his being nailed to a cross, and after three torturous hours, he died. At this journey’s end, there was one final cry from a small group, a centurion and the men with him: “Truly, this was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:54).

Allow some time to relive these two journeys. You might hear some things you haven’t noticed before. Perhaps the words of one of the secondary characters or Jesus’ response to a particular situation or his silence before another will speak to you this time.

Consider/Discuss

What does it mean to acknowledge Jesus as the Son of David, the one who comes in the name of the Lord, the prophet from Galilee, the Son of God?
As this Lent comes to its end, where have these days taken you? What have you learned? What do you have to say to God?

Responding to the Word

We pray that we will follow Jesus faithfully all the days of our life, recognizing him as the one who continues to come in the name of the Father bringing life. We ask that we may trust in God as Jesus did until we see God face to face.

Jan 14 2025

The Journey from Death to Life

Caravaggio painted an image of Lazarus coming forth from the tomb. Eugene O’Neil wrote a play called Lazarus Laughed. Sylvia Plath wrote a poem called “Lady Lazarus.” Poets, playwrights, and artists have been attracted to this story from John’s Gospel through the centuries. For some two millennia Lazarus has been the symbol of someone brought back from the dead, revealing the power of God at work in Jesus of Nazareth.

Over the centuries Lazarus has been a figure of hope for countless generations, especially at the time of a loved one’s death. Are there any more comforting words than those that Jesus says to Martha? “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25–26).

Death comes not only at the end of life, but sometimes within life. This is true both for individuals and whole nations. Israel in exile was like a field of dry bones, sealed up in tombs, cut off from life completely, lacking all hope. But God promised to bring Israel back to life and return the people to their home. God promised the spirit that would bring them back home and restore life.

Paul’s words to the community at Rome serve to remind us that death will not have the last word. For all the death that we see in our world from war and earthquakes, sickness and human violence and cruelty, there is a power stronger than death: the Spirit of God.

Consider/Discuss

How do you think of death, as the end or as a transition?
Are you being called to die to something in your life, so that you can live more fully in the power of the Spirit?

Responding to the Word

We pray to the Lord of the living and the dead that we might not lose hope even now in the face of so much sadness in our world. We pray for a strengthening of trust in God that removes any fear of death threatening us or those we love.

Jan 14 2025

Lent as a Journey from Darkness to Light

Most of us can recognize times when we are “in the dark” and occasions when we carry darkness in our hearts, just as there are moments when we feel enlightened and find that our vision is clear. It is quite another thing to become identified with darkness or with light. The first words of today’s reading from the Letter to the Ephesians stand out for their boldness: “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8).

We get a glimpse of what it means to be light in the Lord both from Samuel, who finally sees as God sees, and in the courageous behavior of the man born blind after Jesus has healed him. Samuel anoints Israel’s greatest king, David, and the man born blind comes to faith in Jesus as Lord.

The man born blind is one of those strong figures found in John’s Gospel. Like the woman at the well, we never learn his name but we come to know his heart. His speech is straightforward, whether speaking to his neighbors, the Pharisees, or Jesus. You can hear the gradual dawning of faith as he responds to those around him, from the simple “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see” to “He is a prophet,” to his answer to Jesus’ question about having faith in the Son of man standing before him, “I do believe, Lord” (John 9:15, 17, 38).

In the beginning, God spoke. Those first words have never stopped bringing about what they said: “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3).

Consider/Discuss

What does it mean to be darkness? To be light?
Are you open to the light as Samuel and the man born blind were, willing to submit to it when it speaks to or touches you?
Are you part of a community that strives to live in the light?

Responding to the Word

We pray to God as the ineffable light shining forth in the darkness, ever creating anew, calling forth from the darkness of fear and prejudice and hatred a community of men and women who choose to live in the light of Christ. We pray God to remove our attraction to the darkness, replacing it with a love for the Light.