There’s a version of Christianity today that tells us that if we have faith enough, and trust enough in God, we can avoid all the pain and sorrow that we fear. That God will bless those who love God and shower wealth and prosperity upon them. And that if you’re not prosperous and doing great, well… something is wrong with your faith or with your relationship with God.

Jesus’ appearance to the disciples in the Upper Room on the evening of Easter Day, and his later appearance to St. Thomas puts a lie to that idea. Jesus’ resurrection body, glorfied and reified as it is, still carries the marks of the terrible suffering he endured on the cross. Easter gives us a new way to understand what happens but it doesn’t give us a way to avoid it.

The sermon this week talks about this idea, about how it is seen in the lives of the Saints, and in the lives of the Apostles. And perhaps in yours as well.

You can view the sermon directly at this link.