No doubt you remember as I do being afraid of ghosts when you were a child. If you had brothers like I did, you probably also remember them using the idea of ghosts to scare the “heebie-jeebies” out of you! In this weekend’s passage of the Holy Gospel, Jesus appeared to some of the disciples and “they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost!” Think about it…some of them had seen the crucifixion and perhaps took a part in the burial of Jesus. Could it be that Jesus was back in their midst? The answer, of course, is a resounding “YES!” Today's Gospel describes Jesus’ appearance to his apostles in their hiding place in the Upper Room. The disciples were doubtful. That’s not surprising. After all, death was final for them. But Jesus removed the doubts of His disciples about his resurrection by actually inviting them to touch Him and by eating a piece of cooked fish. How down to earth! Jesus explained to them how the “prophecies had been fulfilled” in Him. Then he commissioned them to bear witness to him and to preach the Good News of His death and resurrection. What does this mean for us? The same Jesus who, in the upper room, prepared his disciples for their preaching and witnessing mission, is present with us in our Eucharisticcelebrations. In the "Liturgy of the Word," (the readings of Mass) Jesus speaks to us. In the "Liturgy of Bread and Wine," Jesus becomes our spiritual food and drink. So, in a very real sense, today's Gospel scene is repeated every Sunday on our parish altar. Unfortunately, we take these great gifts of the presence of Jesus for granted. Perhaps we need to be “terrified” a bit like the disciples were so that we can have a better appreciation of the presence of Jesus in our lives. There is a true story in Ripley’s Believe It Or Not about a judge in Yugoslavia who had an unfortunate accident. He was “electrocuted” when he reached up to turn on the light while standing in the bathtub. His wife found his body sprawled on the bathroom floor. She called for help--friends and neighbors, police--everyone showed up. He was pronounced dead and taken to the funeral home. The local radio picked up the story and broadcast it all over the air. In the middle of the night, the judge regained consciousness. When he realized where he was, he rushed over to alert the night watchman, who promptly ran off, terrified. The first thought of the judge was to phone his wife and reassure her. But he got no further than, "Hello darling, it’s me," when she screamed and fainted. He tried calling a couple of the neighbors, but they all thought it was some sort of a sick prank. He even went so far as to go to the homes of several friends, but they were all sure he was a ghost and slammed the door in his face. Finally, he was able to call a friend in the next town who hadn't heard of his death. This friend was able to convince his family and other friends that he really was alive. Today’s Gospel tells us that Jesus had to convince the disciples that he wasn’t a ghost. He had to dispel their doubts and their fears. He showed them his hands and his feet. He invited them to touch him and see that he was real. And He even ate a piece of cooked fish with them--all to prove that He was alive and not a ghost or spirit. He stood there before them, as real and alive as he had been over the past three years.
GOSPEL QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Is Jesus real to you…or just a ghost in your mind?