In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Spirit. Christ is risen. We are in
the midst of the Paschal season, and this year,
April 20th, was the first Sunday of Pascha. Pascha
itself. And on Vespers that day, the Gospel reading
ended with the Apostle Thomas saying these words.
Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.
And belief is such an important thing for us,
for all of us. Belief is central to our faith.
And last Sunday, on the second Sunday of Pascha,
We heard in the Gospel reading how the Lord appeared
miraculously in the middle of a closed room in
the midst of his disciples, and St. Thomas was
there. And the Kentuckian of that day said, Thomas
touched your life -giving side with an eager
hand, O Christ God, when you did come to your
apostles through closed doors. He cried out with
all, You are my Lord and my God. Doubt disappeared.
Believing Thomas went forth that day, and from
that time he took the gospel message to many
people in many lands. The way of salvation was
taken to Parthia and to the Medes and to the
Persians and to those in India. He took the gospel.
and gave it to others because he had belief.
Belief is the most important thing for us to
move forward in faith, to walk with the Lord.
And this Sunday, the third Sunday of Pascha,
the Sunday of the myrrh -bearing women, of the
saints Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, believed.
Today's gospel reading from Mark tells us of
how Joseph took down the body of Christ and wrapped
him in fine linen and placed him in a new tomb
and rolled a great stone in front of that door
and then after on the Sabbath morning after the
Sabbath on the next morning at the sunrise Mary
Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome,
bought spices that they might come and anoint
him. It was a Jewish custom to anoint the body
with aromatic oils, and these faithful women,
they sought to fulfill this custom. They knew
there was a stone there, but they went anyway.
And what did they find? the stone rolled away
miraculously. And inside the tomb, they did not
find the body of the Lord. They found an angel
who told them, Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus
of Nazareth, who is crucified. He is risen. He
is not here. See the place where they laid him.
But go tell his disciples and Peter that he is
going before you into Galilee. There you will
see him as he said to you. And we honor these
myrrh -bearing women this day for their courage
and their devotion and their demonstration of
great love for Jesus. When the disciples were
scattered, they were at the Lord's tomb, learning
of the resurrection in fullness. And this is
the lesson for us. to move forward in faith,
to believe, to follow our Lord and God and Savior,
Jesus Christ, even when perhaps a moment of doubt
hits us. We keep going, just as they did, with
courage, devotion, and love, to never leave him,
to trust in him with such faith that even if
some unmovable stone is in our way, We continue
moving forward, doing what we know is right,
seeking to follow his commandments because we
believe. And we will walk a life of faith and
live a life of faith, continuing on the road
of salvation and the way of truth. St. Thomas
had doubts, but he kept walking. And the Lord
gave him what was needed. And so that now we
call him believing Thomas. Do you have doubts?
Keep going. What is the most important step in
your walk of faith? The next step. Keep going
and God will sanctify you. Believe and trust
in the Lord. And now on this third Sunday of
Pascha. We rejoice with the myrrh -bearing women,
with St. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, with
St. Thomas and all the apostles and all the saints.
We rejoice for our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus
Christ, has conquered sin and death. Christ is
risen.