Jesus is risen! In today’s gospel we see the risen Jesus enter a room where the doors were locked and bring a message of peace. We know the effect that this encounter had on the apostles. They left their quiet hiding place and fear behind and went out preaching the gospel everywhere. All of them except John would eventually lay down their lives in testimony to the truth that they had seen the risen lord. Jesus had died and was alive again, so there was nothing to fear from the world, not even death.

This freedom from the fear of death reminds me of the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead that we heard in the days before Easter. The Scriptures tell us that so many people were coming to see Lazarus and being converted that the Jewish leaders decided that they had to put an end to this. Their incredible solution was…they would attempt to kill Lazarus. Now that just seems silly to me. Imagine how Lazarus would have felt in the the face of threats to kill him. “Well, I’ve already been dead once…so I guess go ahead and give it your best shot!”

Like Lazarus, we too have “already been dead once.” St. Paul reminds us that we have already died with Christ when we were baptized. Why is it that we still seem to live in fear? We’re afraid of such inconsequential things like the esteem of human beings or living comfortably. Why is it that so many Christians seem to keep their faith locked up in a room and are afraid to go out as the apostles did?

Today, we are the ones spoken of by Jesus to Thomas who “have not seen and yet believe.” If we truly believe in the resurrection then there is no power in this world that should give us cause for fear. The apostles met the risen lord and their lives changed forever. What about for us? Jesus is risen. He is truly risen. Now, what difference does it make?