Doubts and Fears

Gospel: Luke 24: 35-48

A few days ago women came to tell us that they had seen the risen Jesus, but we found their story to be nonsense.  Now we have these two men who claimed to have see the risen Lord while on their way to Emmaus, but their story makes little sense to us as well.  But today the Lord himself came and appeared in our midst, and after some time of questioning and observation we finally have come to accept the fact of Jesus' resurrection.  

Why were the women so ready to believe and these men continued to doubt, even with the Lord in their midst? The women did not have to bear the shame of having abandoned Jesus and running away in fear.  They remained with the Lord at the cross and at the tomb.  The women did not have words of bravado - I will die for you, Lord! - and the like which they did not live up to.  The women did not shut themselves up in the upper room, but went out to the garden in order to see the Lord.  

We all have the tendency to shut ourselves away in an upper room, literal or metaphorical.  We have our doubts and fears, driven largely by our failures of the past.  But the Lord comes even in our places of hiding, offering peace and inviting us to be with him in his presence and in the scriptures.  And one day the upper room will be a launching pad and not a hiding place, propelling us to a life of mercy extended to others.