It is very difficult to be filled with gratitude and generosity and still be selfish, fearful or unjust. They recognized that the kingdom of God was within them. The critical mass of individuals whose lives expressed this Spirit-filled unity enabled great miracles to be worked in their midst. The combination of these signs and wonders and their incredibly attractive way of life attracted many converts to the faith. The story from Acts describes God-inspired human community — accept no substitutes because there are none. Unfortunately, we have often settled for much less and convinced ourselves that this is normal. The community described in Acts is an ideal to be sure but even reasonable imitations are relatively rare. All of the moral, institutional and liturgical reforms in the world will not restore the vitality of the Church unless they are accompanied by life-giving community and the willingness to share our lives.
The author of 1 Peter struggled to describe the reason for the joy and solidarity of his community. After all, they were experiencing trials and persecutions — what was there to rejoice about? But they knew that they had been promised an inheritance more precious than anyone could imagine — eternal life in the presence of God. In what sounded like a riddle, he put his finger on the cause of their joy: although they had not seen Jesus Christ, they loved Him and believed in Him. This love and faith was the lifeline that allowed them to experience the inspiration, courage, hope and joy of the Spirit of Christ. Without this Spirit they would have collapsed, but with it were able to endure anything. Loving the unseen presence is not as difficult as it seems, for as soon as we reach out in love, the presence reaches out to us.
One word can mean many different things depending on context. In the worldly sense, peace often means the (temporary) absence of violence. In John’s view, peace is something far more profound. Earlier Jesus assured His followers that He was leaving them His brand of peace rather than the worldly one before His departure. When He appeared in the upper room He greeted them with “Peace” — and a clue to what He meant. As He breathed on them, they were filled with the transforming divine Spirit.
Now they had a personal experience of God and had become friends of Jesus. There was no room for the fear and guilt that corrodes human hearts. It was only then that they were capable of fulfilling the mission that He gave them — basically, the same message that the Father had given Him. They were to reveal God’s true nature — light and love — to a world trapped in fear and ignorance.
It is the same mission that we all have but in which we often fall so miserably short. It only works if we dwell and remain in Jesus — that is, live in the Spirit and in love.
Thomas’ fearful and doubting response was typical of most people — he wanted to believe, but was afraid of being let down. Jesus gave him the indisputable truth that he sought, but added both a caution and a note of encouragement.
Empirical truth is rare and easily questioned, but faith is a response of the heart, mind and soul available to all. John’s story of Jesus invites us to let the Spirit of God flow through us and become companions of the divine.