A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” – John 20:26-29

St John the evangelist was building up to this moment.

He was the only author of the gospels to give Thomas the apostle a voice. The others just mentioned his name and nothing more. John first introduced this apostle when Jesus insisted on going back to Judea to raise Lazarus. The apostles argued that it was a dangerous move. Everyone was reluctant except Thomas.

“Let us also go, that we may die with him.” John 11:16

He was willing to follow Jesus even though he thought that the whole endeavor was bordering on suicide. On another occasion, Jesus was telling the distraught disciples about leaving to prepare a place for them. This was not enough for Thomas. He wanted to know about this place so that he could be close to Jesus.

“Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” John 14:5

Last but not least, he was the only person in all the gospels to explicitly confess that Jesus is God. While the rest of the apostles were still trying to fathom everything which was happening, Thomas was able to put two and two together. This man was someone who was serious about following Jesus.

This is the portrait John the evangelist painted of this apostle. He was a man of great faith who wanted to follow Jesus without any ambiguities. He was willing to give his all for Christ. Therefore, it is understandable that a secondhand account of the Resurrected Christ would not do for him. He was right. Our faith is too important to rest on the experience of others. It must become something real for us. We need to meet the Risen Christ ourselves. However, Thomas had doubts. They were not necessarily about the resurrection of Jesus. After all, he knew the apostles. No doubt they were his close friends. They had no reason to lie about such an important event. I believe that Thomas had the kind of doubt which most of us experience quite frequently. He wondered if he was still part of this great and wonderful thing Jesus was doing in their midst. He wanted some assurance. In his desperation, he limited how Jesus should reveal Himself. Well, in his case, it worked out. In spite of this, Jesus tells us that this is not going to be always the case. Things are not going to be so obvious.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.” Matthew 6:22

This week we met a young man named Yuri. He was amazed how long we have been around here. He claimed that we knew him when he was a young boy. There was a time when Russian names were popular in Brazil. We know quite a number of “Yuris” and “Igors” and they are about the same age. This particular one I don’t recall ever meeting. Even though he got some details right, I am pretty sure that he has mistaken us for someone else. It is also very possible that my memory is failing me. Maybe this is why he was prompted to ask a follow up question: my age. I told him and he responded saying that I was as old as his grandfather. There are many ways to take this comment but sincerely I felt good about it. It reflects our journey in this place. When I first came to this ministry, we were like older siblings to most of the children. A few years later. we were assuming the role of a parent. Now, we have attained the grandparent status. It feels special and privileged to grow in this same place. It will be really special if we can reach the great-grandparent stage one day.

Bruno was sitting next to us and he asked what it was like when we first came here in nineties. It was a very different world. Needless to say, I was a very different person. I was ready to conquer the world with the help of Jesus, of course. I believed that I aspired to be the male version of Mother Theresa. I thought that I had some magic words which would convince all the homeless children to leave the streets and flock to shelters and homes. I imagined sharing “success” stories to the churches so that they would be impressed with the ministry here. There was definitely lot of ego involved, I admit. However, it was much more than that. I truly believed that I needed to see all these things happening to prove to myself that God was including me in His great plan here. Then I encountered reality and it appeared that God wasn’t cooperating with our plans. Even though I never doubted God’s power, I did end up doubting myself.

I told Bruno that there were about three to five hundred homeless children sleeping right in the spot where we were. He found that hard to believe. It is strange to hear from a homeless youth. Presently we have about a hundred children and teens sleeping in that area: a smaller number, albeit still disturbing. Back then the homeless children seemed poorer and malnourished. Almost all were addicted to crack cocaine. This is another major difference today. None of our children and teens use crack. In fact, they consider it as an insult to call someone a crack addict. Moreover, there was the Aids pandemic and a vast majority of the children were HIV positive. Many died from the disease for a lack of treatment. Violence and murder were also a common occurrence. One of our most heart-rending memories involves helping a mother retrieve the corpse of her murdered daughter from the morgue. Crime was rampant and brutal. No one could walk past the children and teens without being robbed. As I was reminiscing, I noticed a small group of curious teens gathering around to listen to my stories. I really felt like a grandfather now talking about the past. The only difference was that those weren’t the good ole days. Something has changed for the better. I have not noticed it until today.

There are many things in this world which have gone from bad to worse. Many times I have wondered why God is not doing anything concrete. Corruption has become worse. The sense of apathy is steadily growing. Strangely in the midst of all these miseries, the Risen Christ is quietly changing a situation which no one cares about. Since the time we came in the nineties until now, things have gotten better. We overlooked the things He was doing because we were blinded by own expectations. There are less homeless children and teens in the streets now. Death occurs but not at the rate as before. Crime is present but it is not as bad as before. Teenage pregnancy dropped drastically. Before almost all the girls were constantly with child. Now, this is quite rare. The children sniff paint thinner and sometimes glue but this is far better than becoming crack addicts. Most importantly, our relationship with the children and teens is more real and special than before.

In the past, we were so busy trying to treat the problems that we forgot the individual involved. Today, we have learned to see them as individuals first and listen to them as they show us how to walk with them. They have become our children and grandchildren. They have a special place in our hearts.

The Risen Christ is present in this place. I always believed it. However, there is a tendency within us to restrict His actions. We might be so keen on seeing results according to our expectations that we can miss seeing His actions among us. Worse still, we might settle for some mediocre idea of success when the Risen Christ has something far superior in store for us. Thomas did not want to settle for anything less than the Risen Christ. We can appreciate that. We want to be like Thomas in this sense. However, Jesus would like us to be open and see beyond our perceptions and expectations so that we can truly marvel at the wondrous works of our Risen Lord.

On the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” Luke 24:1-5

Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her. John 20:18

“Evidence that Demands a Verdict” If I am not mistaken, this was the name of the book. I bought it as a young man, at an age when my faith was revitalized or born again as some might say. I was keen to know that there were concrete facts to prove that Jesus rose from the dead. I never surpassed the first two chapters. I made several attempts at reading this book over the years. It never conquered my interest. I came to a verdict about the book but it was far from what the author expected.

As I matured in my faith, I realized that there is nothing duller than inventing logical arguments to prove the Resurrection. I have never met anyone who said, “Now I believe after hearing your convincing words.” No mere mortal words can express the eternal event of the Resurrection. No elegant persuasive arguments can do justice to such a remarkable occurrence except perhaps the powerful words of Mary Magdalene. They were plain and simple but they never fail to bring hope and joy to our souls. “I have seen the Lord.”

Of course, the disciples did not believe her immediately. They are right to do so. No one should believe such a marvelous truth just because of someone’s words. They had to see the Lord for themselves. Nevertheless, Mary’s words brought comfort to their souls, giving them hope that they too could share the same encounter. Thanks be to God, they are joy and comfort for our souls as well; we too can see the Lord in a real sense just like them. Of course, this complicates things. The word, real, I mean. Well, faith helps us to see reality, albeit many charlatans have misused and abused faith. Regardless of this, we need faith to open our hearts to see reality.

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt in your philosophy.” William Shakespeare, Hamlet

We have a very dear friend who once told us at our dinner table that she no longer believed in God. She was an evangelical Christian before. She worked in an institute dealing with trauma victims. Daily she dealt with many heart wrenching circumstances causing her to doubt the God of her upbringing. Furthermore, she found it hard to fathom an order in all this chaos. It is quite understandable. Nonetheless, recently we had lunch with the same friend in her home and she expressed a change of heart. She continues to work in the same field but among the people living in extreme poverty. She deals with the same problems as before but their social status adds another dimension to the pain and sufferings. This time she noticed that no matter what happens faith remains in the hearts of the people. She is also of Afro-Brazilian descent and has been reading about her ancestors suffering the horrors of slavery in the Americas and yet even in these narratives, the faith element was strong. Furthermore, there were many things happening around her making her doubt her own skepticism. She realizes that perhaps there is something real beyond what her previous philosophy informed her. Her eyes and ears are opened. She is looking for the Resurrected Christ but perhaps not in the traditional way. Maybe she doesn’t even know it. It is not important. She is on the right road and eventually she will see the Resurrected Lord walking by her side. This is our hope and the meaning of this blessed morning. He is alive and not distant from our reality.

Mary Magdalene’s announcement to the disciples opened a new possibility. In the face of dire hopelessness and abandonment, there is now the hope of abundant Life. However, we cannot believe until we encounter the Risen Christ. He is the source of our faith, not the empty tomb. We need to avail ourselves to meet Him. He has not changed His modus operandi. He is doing what He did in the gospels but now He is not restricted by time nor space. He has extended his scope. Now, He is in the world. He has resurrected so that He can be in the world forever among those who struggle and suffer for Life… His presence is everywhere. He invites us to meet Him in a real way. Well, sometimes we might walk past Him. Sometimes we might be too busy checking our phones and listening to our music that we miss an opportunity to meet Him. Sometimes we walk past the Lord and even ignore Him. He could be the one walking next to us. I believe it happened once to some of the disciples if memory doesn’t fail me. The Resurrected Christ manifests Himself in the lives of people more oft than not in the least likely person. The first person is to see Him was Mary Magdalene: a woman! Of all the women, not the best choice according to Jesus’ time. There were eleven apostles that Jesus could have appeared to at first but only the women went to the tomb. They availed themselves to be in a place where they could meet the Resurrected Christ.

Several years ago, well, I think maybe about 8 years ago to be precise, we had an encounter with a young woman for a very brief moment in our home. It was so brief that I can not recall her name. However, I do not believe that I will forget her. She was an acquaintance of a friend. She is a timid and petite young woman, a perfect candidate to be ignored in this city which has no time for anyone who does not assert their presence. Her young life was one filled with pain and suffering. She shared a household with a predatory relative. For years, she was abandoned and suffered in silence. She had no religious upbringing and knew very little about the Bible. Nevertheless, there was one in her room. She picked it up when she was taunted by suicidal thoughts and started with the gospels. Suddenly, the person of Jesus became real to her. She drew strength and comfort from Him and sensed a new zest for Life. Her situation did not change immediately. She suffered for a long painful period but her life was transformed. The light of Christ came into her heart in the darkest moment of her life. Her story did not bring her to a church. Instead it made her sensitive to the real presence of the Lord. She continues to heal from her wounds. In the meantime she never fails to give testimony that He has visited her.

Thankfully Mary Magdalene’s testimony alerted the disciples to look for the Lord among the living. Immediately, they went out into the world looking for Him. Easter invites us to do the same. If we avail ourselves to listen and look for Him, He will manifest Himself. It will not be in a form of a doctrine nor an argument. These are the dullest means to know about the Resurrection. Jesus resurrected to give us Life. We cannot say that we believe in the Resurrection until we can say with conviction, “I have seen the Lord.”

Have a Blessed Easter. Enjoy your meals and time with your loved ones. We will do the same but on Monday, we are going to the streets to look for the Risen Christ. I am sure that He is present wherever you may be. He will show Himself to you. All we need to do is to make ourselves available to meet Him. Each of us have to discover for ourselves what this means. No matter what happens, we know that we have a reason to be joyful in this world.

He is risen! Alleluia!

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and striking him on the face. Pilate went out again and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him.” John 19:1-6

I never considered myself a pacifist even though it is appealing. I do not know much about its arguments except for the obvious. I find it strange to consider myself part of a movement or an idea without knowing anything about the details. However, one thing is for sure. In the world, people believe and act as if violence is the best way forward. It is not just because of the recent war. This is just a symptom. We have grown accustomed to violence. Most of time we willingly welcome its devious presence into our homes without any qualms. We allow our children to be discipled by it. In most movies, the so-called good personality often commits mass murders and we end up rooting for him or her. We are expected to admire these so-called heroes. Of course, there are the apologists. They argue that violence is necessary in some situations. They are right according to the values of the world. However, today we stand at the foot of the Cross. The person hanging on it refused to listen to the values of the world. He resisted His final temptation on the Cross. He refused to act in violence even though He would have been justified to do so. Jesus was not a pacifist. He is the New Creation. Therefore, we reflect on this sacred day whether new wine can be stored in an old wineskin. Jesus made a stand against violence and we need to consider our attitude towards it. We can not be neutral neither can we have the best of both worlds. The Cross demands a decision.

Jesus had opportunities. Peter drew his sword and inflicted pain. Jesus had to remind Him that He came to heal and not to destroy. Jesus refused the weapon of death. His disciples felt lost and impotent. They were by no means cowards. Furthermore, they would not have been with Him at this moment if they were. They were confused. Jesus rejected the use of violence and they just did not know how to defend someone without it. It was the only language they knew. It was the language which had been taught to them their whole lives. On the Cross, a new language is given to this world. For those who have ears, it is heard clearly.

I am no stranger to violence. I am not naive. I do not live in a fantasy world. I had a strange relationship with it. I was once fascinated with it and then I witnessed many unpleasant scenes. Now they haunt me in a repulsive manner. I also sensed an anger rising within me each time I see an innocent person suffer. Sometimes the victim is one of the children and some times it is our children committing acts of violence against an innocent person. Immediately, in my soul, there is a sense of hatred for the perpetrator. I desire revenge and punishment. Then I realize that I am not any different from the one committing acts of violence. I am still engaging the demon. I am just perpetuating its presence in this world. The Cross challenges me to abandon it altogether. It is an unsettling thought. It means giving up feeling secure albeit with a false security. Violence generates more violence and never peace and security.

I am challenged at the foot of the Cross to rethink everything. I used to think that violence was necessary in some circumstances. I heard it said and used it myself, “a necessary evil”. However, Jesus calls us to walk in the Light. Therefore, can Light have kinship with darkness? If we think that we need the tools of darkness to survive in this world, then are we not succumbing to its will? Jesus remained silent on the matter. It was not an omission on His part. It was an outright rejection. He refused to participate. He paved the way for a new way of thinking. However, apologists of violence still argue that in some circumstances, violence is justified. This is exactly what the High Priest believed. He thought that Jesus was going to cause the demise of the nation. Consequently, violence was the only way to eliminate Him. What about the tyrants of this world? Something needs to be done to stop them. Well, Jesus told someone who wanted to be his disciple these wise words,

“Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:60

Some thought that Jesus deserved it; He had it coming. This is another attitude which violence fosters within us. We blame the victim for the violence they have suffered. When someone gets robbed, people say that the victim should have been more careful. If a young girl gets raped… Recently a Congolese refugee in Rio was brutally beaten and murdered in broad daylight. He worked in a kiosk at a popular beach for three days and asked the owner to pay him. He was refused his pay and the owner set his security guards on him. He was killed for asking for what was due to him. One person told me that the victim did not even have a criminal record, meaning that if he had one, then he had deserved this violence.

At the Cross, we see what a culture of violence is capable of doing. It blinds people and hardens their hearts. There are some that might still insist that some good comes out of violence. Well, “good” and “bad” are relative terms. If we judge them by the standard of the world, then this argument works. However, at the foot of the Cross, we are confronted with another reality. The New Creation manifests itself in the person of Jesus. You will never find any words He uttered to justify violence or promote it. In the Old Testament, we are given ample examples to construct a convincing argument. However, our faith begins at the foot of the Cross. He sets the example for us to follow. He was struck in the face and he never retaliated. He was humiliated but he never said anything to subject Himself to the standards of his tormentors. We are asked to be like our Master and Lord.

Those who crucified Him truly believed that they were doing something right. Yes, the world has good arguments for violence. However, it is not the ways of the world which concern us. It is the person of Jesus. We can stand this Good Friday at the foot of the Cross and suffer with Christ or take the side of those who think sometimes people should suffer. We can not be on both sides. Jesus beckons us to see the world from the point of the suffering, regardless of the circumstances or situations which provoked it. Therefore, should a Christian consider violence as a legitimate form of action? When we allow violence to come into our homes through entertainment, do we not become accomplices of those who stood and mocked Jesus as He suffered all kinds of tortures? If we think violence can produce good in this world, then we are in agreement with the High Priest who persecuted Jesus and eventually the disciples.

We are salt of the world, but if salt loses it saltiness, then it serves no purpose at all.

As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying,
“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.” Luke 19:37-40

It was a quiet night. Mary and I were talking in the bedroom and all of a sudden, we heard two loud sounds. They were unmistakable. They were gun shots. After a short pause, we heard the third one. I looked out of the window. A thief laid dead on the ground. I believed that I have already shared this before a year ago, perhaps when it happened but I want to share it again today on Palm Sunday. The day’s celebrations reminded me of this event. Nevertheless, one never forgets such moments. The poor soul who lost his life for a mere twenty dollars. This is the street value for a used mobile phone. Then on the same night, I read the news about a scoundrel who calls himself a pastor telling his congregation that God wanted them to buy him a new personal jet because he had to travel first class with common people. Then, last week, we saw a group of policemen stealing money in broad daylight. They did nothing to hide this fact. It seems like we are slowly slipping into lawlessness. Then again, it seems like justice occurs swiftly and mercilessly to the very poor.

On Palm Sunday, we do our processions around the church ( at least in some churches ) and proclaim that Jesus is the King. We sing one of my favorite hymns, All GLORY, LAUD AND HONOR…Unfortunately, the world paints a dire picture which is not compatible with the kingship of Jesus. Everything goes from bad to worse. Sometimes it appears as if there is no order but just utter chaos. Even the most absurd optimist can not explain things away now. In times like this, I feel a little awkward to say that Jesus is King. I do not mean that I am ashamed of saying it. I do not want to offer mere lip service. I want to have conviction of this truth. However, everyday it seems less likely that Jesus is King in this world. It is not a crisis of faith or anything like that. It is a confession. I do not understand how things can be this way when Jesus is truly King. Like the man said to Jesus, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9 : 24)

We know that the triumphant welcome of Jesus was short-lived. In our Palm Sunday liturgy, we read the first reading of the Passion. The same people who shouted, “Hosanna!” were later disappointed with Jesus. They turned against Him. They shouted with the same passion, “Crucify Him!” They felt deceived. He was not the King they had hoped for. His disciples who stood by Him must have been deeply confused and perturbed. For a moment, they must have thought that the reign of Jesus was finally being established and then just like that, they were thrust into a hopeless situation. They watched helplessly as their Lord was taken away from them, being treated like a common criminal and not like a king at all. However, in their hearts, they believed in His Kingship but suddenly the nature of His kingdom became a mystery to them. I think many of us can appreciate the sentiments of Jesus. Unfortunately, there are millions of people who prayed to our King asking Him to rescue their children or spouses from the hands of cruel people or situations and their prayers were never answered. Most of them still have their faith intact without knowing what to expect. They still believe that Jesus is Lord but they do not quite comprehend His dominion over this world.

One thing is for sure, the opinion of the crowd is not reliable. On occasions, they might grasp something true but it does not take long for the devil to come and snatch it away from them. The answer is not found in popular opinion nor the so-called religious culture. Many churches have succumbed to the concept of marketing “Jesus” as a product and make promises which He never made. If we want to understand His Kingdom, then the King is only person who could reveal it to us. We should not let his given title confuse us. He is not King like the presidents and politicians of this world. He does not exercise His power like them. Besides, Jesus Himself never claimed to have a kingdom in this world. However, He did show what kind of person He truly is.

He told us that He is a King who did not come to condemn nor judge. Therefore, we can not expect Him to sort out all the injustices in this world as we would like Him to do. He taught us that the King washes the feet of His subjects. Therefore, we should not expect Him to act or even use the so-called rulers and princes of today. They have nothing in common with Him. They do not wash anyone’s feet, maybe not even their own. He is a King who loves His enemies and refuses to strike back when they strike. He is not going to take revenge for us for all the injustices we have suffered. Jesus was always honest about the nature of His kingship. It was the people who had false expectations. They couldn’t help it. The title of the king confused them. It confuses us, too. We only know one kind of ruler and government. The one which dominates and rules over us with an iron hand. We want our King to be like them but to be on our side instead. However, Jesus is who He is. His Kingdom is strong and present in this world for those who are able to see Him for who He is.

We are in process of gaining back our friendships which were held on hold during the Pandemic. One of our friends came over for a short visit and we talked about the challenges of talking about Jesus meaningfully without caving in to cliches and doctrinal jargon. She shared a story about her friend who was dealing with suicidal thoughts. He was admitted to a clinic for treatment where he was acquainted with another girl with similar issues. They supported each other but in tragic turn of events, the girl ended her life in the clinic itself. The distraught friend spoke to the counsellor who happened to be a Buddhist monk. He told her that the best way to help someone is to discover how to live a good life. It sounded like simple advice but it stayed with us.

A few days later, in the streets, Daniel asked if we could play a card game with him. He was quite specific about the location where we should play. He led us to a spot where he found several days ago. It was still in the square where the children hang out but it was a peaceful and calm place surrounded by trees. We started talking and he said that sometimes he wished he could start over. I asked what he would change in his past. He said, “I want to do things in a way that I can be like you. I want to live the lives that you lead. It seems peaceful to me.” I have to admit that it was not the answer I expected. I thought he was going to say that he would have studied more and not come to the streets, etc. We have had many talks with Daniel in the past. We have known this boy since he was eleven. He will turn twenty in a few months time. There were many conversations and outings. He has lost many friends to violence over the years. He has suffered violence and brutality. In the midst of all this, he never lost his faith. He always sought to find the King present in this world. He sees Jesus’ Kingdom in the lives of people.

Jesus the King does not manifest Himself in the mechanism of this world. His Kingdom is present where real change occurs. It is present in the hearts and souls of people who have said, “Yes” to His Kingship. Daniel knew where to look for the Kingdom. I heard the three shots that one tragic night and wanted Jesus to be like the dull kings of this world. His Kingdom is not from this world as He clearly said to Pilate. Therefore, we should not waste our time looking for the manifestation of God’s kingdom in the systems of this world. Jesus reigns but His reign is only perceptible for those who can understand His glory when He hung on the Cross.