John 20
What do you miss most during this pandemic? Many of us will answer it is the Mass. That’s why many of us watch televised Masses. And this is a natural reaction because the Mass contains all the essential elements of our faith. Repentance: we confess together our sinfulness at the beginning. Revelation: we hear the Word of God proclaimed. And there follows teaching on the Word of God. Intercession: we pray for us and for the world. Offering: We bring gifts to our Lord. Sacrifice: on the altar Christ offers himself as the true victim for our redemption and salvation. Communion: we receive the body and blood of our Lord. Presence: our God is actually present in the Word and in the Eucharist.
But there is still another element we often do not recognize because we take it for granted. It is the community. Probably many of us miss the gathering of the faithful to worship together. Indeed this is critical for our faith because God called us as a community not as individuals. It was the community of Israel that God called out of Egypt. From the very beginning of his public ministry, Jesus called his disciples to form a community. And he spent all his ministry with them as a community. And he built his church as a community. Our Lord is present not anywhere else but in this community of faith.
This is what we see both in the first reading and in the gospel of this Sunday. After the resurrection, once again Jesus gathers his disciples and reveals his bodily resurrection. After the Pentecost, the first Christians lived a life of a true community. They prayed together, celebrated the Eucharist together, they ate together, shared everything together, spent much time together - together and together. And in this togetherness, our God was present and worked many wonders!
So, the Church without this togetherness is not to be called the Church. The Church is not an assembly of likeminded individuals but an organic body of self-giving and sharing. Then, are you satisfied with watching televised Masses? Do you think we can be perfectly good Christians just as individuals without a community?
In this time of self-confinement, we truly recognize this communal essence of our faith. I hope that this absence of the community worship during this pandemic may renew our desire for the community of the faithful. And I hope we may put all our efforts to keep the community spirit even in this absence of the visible community. And I pray our Lord may gather his flock once again soon so that we may worship him together and renew our community life of faith.
