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I love watching Disney movies, even as adult, because the writers know that young people are only part of their audience. They must entertain the adults, too.

Perhaps the best thing about them is the fact that every movie has a lesson to be learned, even for the older ones among us. For example, how many of us have seen the movie, Frozen?

You may remember I preached on the theme song Let It Go a few weeks ago. Today I’d like to revisit that movie, but make a different point.

Do you remember what happened to Queen Elsa? After she discovers that she has uncontrollable super powers, she runs away from home and builds herself a castle of ice, where she remains in isolation for many, many years.

Sadly, Elsa’s village of Arendelle remains in an eternal winter until she returns home and allows herself to be loved.

***
In today’s Gospel, the Apostle Thomas acts a bit like Queen Elsa. He withdraws himself from the Christian community because he’s distraught over the death of Jesus. Thomas wants to wrestle with his feelings and his future alone.

This proves to be a big mistake.

Meanwhile, the other disciples are just as heartbroken as Thomas is. But their sorrow does not tear them apart; rather, they share their feelings and their pain with one another.

As it says in our first reading, this “community of believers was of one heart and mind” (Acts 4:32). This is why Jesus appears to them – and not to Thomas – because they remained together.

Thus Jesus teaches them a very important lesson: they should not live in isolation. When pain or sorrow strikes, the worst thing they can do is run away from their community; rather, being together is always better than being alone.

***

So what does this mean for us?

Jesus is not present in the isolation. He does not want us to build walls or separate ourselves from those whom we should trust, especially our family and our closest friends.

Teenagers can do this just as much as adults. Think of those times when we put on our headphones and lock ourselves in our room, shutting our family out.

We may feel connected to other people online or through video games in a “virtual world,” but Jesus wants us to stay connected – above all else – to those who live under our roof. Family, our own flesh and blood, comes first.

And to we adults: how often do we put up walls against our spouse, our friends, our co-workers, or even our own parents when we’re frustrated, stressed out, or when things don’t go our way?

Whenever there is a breakdown in communication, we, too, can metaphorically put on our “headphones” and block others out.

But Jesus reminds us today that he is not present in that self-imposed isolation. Rather, he wants us to live in harmony. As he himself says, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20).

To be “gathered in his name” means to be of one mind and one heart. In a word, it means to communicate.

***

Think of Queen Elsa. She can only be healed by true love, which she can’t find on her own. She has to leave her frozen castle and rejoin her village. She needs her friends, and above all, her sister, Anna.

In the same way, Thomas needs the other disciples. He needs to share his doubts and his pain with them. They, too, are sad. But they shouldn’t mourn alone.

Similarly, we need one another. We need our parish, our family, and our friends for love, for support, and ultimately, for human happiness.

What burdens, or hopes, or feelings, or dreams do I need to share with others??

How might we grow together as one community of faith?

How many women are present here this morning?

In many ways, this is your day to celebrate, because it was a woman who was the first to see the Risen Christ. Not Peter, not John, but Mary Magdalene.

Jesus chose her.

But why? We all want to see the Risen One, so what can Mary teach us?

***

On the surface, it seems like very little. Mary Magdalene did nothing great in the world’s eyes.

She never married. She never went to college. She never held public office. She didn’t write a single page of the New Testament.

She was uneducated, a peasant, and by some accounts, a prostitute. Her only claim to fame was being possessed by seven demons.

Mary was the village outcast, the source of many jokes. She was judged, laughed at, or ignored by many.

***

But then she met Jesus. He treated her in a way that no other man ever had. He loved her. He forgave her. He healed her. He gave her meaning. He gave her hope. She was worth his time.

And Mary, in return, followed him faithfully to the very end – and beyond.

As a woman, she was not allowed to stand up and testify on Jesus’ behalf while he was being put on trial. But she watched. She stayed by his side, even as he hung from the Cross.

Peter, meanwhile, was nowhere to be found.

And after Jesus died, it was Mary Magdalene who went to his tomb to anoint his body with oil (John 20:1). That is why we find her there on Easter morning. The Apostles, meanwhile, were locked inside a room, hiding in fear.

Mary did nothing extraordinary. She simply watched Jesus die, and three days later went to anoint his body. That’s all she could do. But behind those simple actions was a heart dedicated to Jesus. That’s why it mattered so much.

She was a true friend to him, even in his darkest hour. It only seems fair, then, that Jesus would choose her to be the first one to see him after he’s risen from the dead.

***

Like Mary Magdalene, how many of us are searching for Jesus? How many of us have had our lives changed by him?  

And like Mary, how many of us are trying to love one another in little ways – cooking meals for our family, doing the dishes, getting the kids ready for school, visiting a friend who is sick, letting go of past hurts, remembering someone’s birthday, or praying for those in need?

Behind these small gestures are hearts filled with love. That’s why they mean so much to us. We are doing what we can for others.

*** 

Mary was a true friend, who loved Jesus to the very end. Imagine how happy she was to see him once again.

In the same way, Jesus rejoices when we love one another in ordinary ways, because we are his face and his voice until he returns.

May Mary Magdalene intercede for us as we continue our Christians journeys, for she rejoices in the presence of the Risen Christ.

And one day we will, too.

 

 

On March 20, 2015, a young woman named Farkhunda Malikzada was attacked by a mob of men outside of a popular mosque in Afghanistan.

Hundreds of people watched as these bloodthirsty men beat her with sticks and stones, ran over her over with a car, set her body on fire, and threw her over a bridge into the river below.

As they beat her, the crowds cried out, “God is great! God is great!”

***

This attack started because these men accused her of burning a copy of the Qur’an, the Islamic holy book…. an offense punishable by death.

Instead of questioning her – or giving her the benefit of the doubt – they took justice into their own hands and killed her.

***

Farkhunda was not only a daughter, a sister, and a friend.

She was also innocent.

***

After a brief police investigation, the truth came out that she was attacked because she courageously confronted several men who were selling drugs outside of the mosque.

Fearing for their own safety, they falsely accused her and incited the attack. Thus an innocent life was taken to protect the lives of the guilty.

And I can’t help but see something of Christ’s own story in that.

***

Jesus was innocent. But he died for the guilty… he died for me.

Yes, God is great. But that’s because he has not condemned us; rather, he’s loved us and given himself for us.

***

As we contemplate Jesus hanging from a tree, we must embrace the new and final commandment he gave us hours before his death:

“Love one another.” (John 13:34).

Think about that person who irritates us or gets under our skin. Think about those we pass on the streets, holding cardboard signs asking for bread, or the homebound – stuck, unable to come to church.

Think about those faces we see on the news – the addict, the poor, the refugee; those the world neglects.

Think about those living under our own roof – our spouse, our children, our self. How are we loving them?

***

Answer this question and we’ll bring glory to God and peace to his people on earth.