In his Gospel, Matthew was addressing his community of mainly Jewish Christians who were facing trials both externally and internally.

Externally, they were facing opposition and persecution from both Jews and Gentiles, challenges that went along with preaching the Gospel. Internally there was confusion about how the community should proceed in future and how it should deal with its Jewish/Christian heritage.

In addition, relationships between Christians had begun to deteriorate.  There was a feeling that Jesus’ second coming was imminent and when this did not happen some began to experience doubt.

In today’s Gospel we see that when the disciples saw Jesus after the resurrection, they fell down before Him, though some hesitated or doubted depending on your translation.

This would naturally speak to those early Christians who had begun to experience doubt.  In this short Gospel passage, Matthew has summarised three of his major themes - (a) The supreme and universal authority of Jesus given by His heavenly Father, (b) Jesus’ message is to be shared with all people and (c) Jesus will be with us till the end of time.

After His resurrection the eleven disciples were going to meet Jesus on a mountain in Galilee. In scripture, a mountain is symbolic of a place where one meets God. A sacred place of divine revelation. In the text, Galilee is understood as the place where the journey began.

In the first place there were only eleven of them. They had to deal with the reasons for Judas’ absence. They had left everything to follow Jesus. He was their hope for a better life. Although He kept explaining to them what would happen, they could not accept what he was saying.

They had their own expectations and what He was telling them did not fit in with their plans. They were so intent on what they believed should happen that when He told them that He would be put to death they blanked out.

This did not make sense to the disciples. It was too horrible for them to contemplate. They completely missed the part where He said that He would rise after three days.

When he was crucified the disciples’ world fell apart. It seemed as if all their hopes and dreams for a better future were over. When have you felt like this? In your times of crisis, who were the women who told you that Jesus was alive?

There is something strange in the human psyche that makes us readily accept bad news but doubt the good news. How many times do we hear the statement “too good to be true”.

When the disciples fell down before Jesus their act was a biblical sign of worship. They recognised His divinity but still some doubted. It would have been easier to accept that He was still in the tomb.

Their doubt assures us that the disciples were neither fanatics ready to believe anything nor were they naive or gullible people easily swayed by the women’s report.

We are consoled by the fact that they are very much like us yet they did come to believe, so intensely, that they gladly gave up their lives for the truth. Jesus calls us to discipleship, assuring us that He will be with us to the end of time. This is good news. Do we believe Him?

Lord, we thank you for all the times in our lives when you told us to meet you on a mountain in Galilee. All the ascension moments in our lives. The times we saw no way out of our troubles and suddenly you were there.

Forgive us for hesitating and not believing that you are alive.  Forgive us for doubting your love, for not seeing ourselves as worthy of receiving good news. Forgive us for our lack of trust, listening only to half of the story.

Help us, Lord, to trust in you. To know that many times in our lives we will be put to death but we will rise again. To believe that you will be with us to the end of time.  Thank you Lord. AMEN
JESUS CHRIST IS RISEN TODAY ALLELUIA!

Yvonne Farmer is a lecturer at the Catholic Bible School and is a member of Lectio Divina groups at the Santa Rosa Church and the Holy Cross Chapel, Arima.