"BE AFRAID; BE VERY AFRAID!" That's the gospel our politicians preach to us every day. However it's a complete contradiction of this Sunday's Gospel narrative about Doubting Thomas.

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Today's gospel relates the story of "Doubting Thomas." The picture is familiar. The apostles have locked themselves in the Upper Room, cowering in the very place where they recently shared a Last Supper with their beloved Yeshua.

Even in that hallowed space, FEAR is the watchword of their days and nights. The apostles are afraid of the Temple authorities. They're afraid of the Romans. In the light of Judas' betrayal, they might even be afraid of one another.

Then suddenly, Yeshua materializes in their midst. His message: "Why all this fear? Be at peace instead."

Thomas, of course, is absent. When he hears the tale of the risen Master, he refuses to believe.

So Yeshua materializes once again -- this time for Thomas' benefit. As in his first appearance, the risen one identifies himself by his wounds. He makes the doubter probe the gashes with his hand and finger. It's Yeshua's reminder that his peace is based on vulnerability, not on the security of locked doors.

"My God, it is you after all!" Thomas realizes.

"Yes, it is," Yeshua affirms.

Then he turns his attention to us. "Blessed are you," he says across the centuries, "who believe without the proof I've just offered Thomas."

The blessing might just as well be an indictment. For the evidence shows we don't really believe in the resurrection. (And I'm not talking about resuscitation of Jesus' corpse.) We don't really believe in the peace Yeshua brings -- new life without fear -- new life based on vulnerability.

Instead, we cover ourselves in armor afraid of being hurt. In this "home of the brave" where 70.6% claim to be followers of Jesus, EVERYTHING is governed by fear. It's as if following Jesus were not about willingness to be wounded, but about self-protection at all costs. It's as though Jesus' greeting to his friends were, "BE AFRAID; BE VERY AFRAID!"

That's the gospel our politicians preach every day. And the church says "Amen."

So to protect our pitiful way of life, we lock and bar our borders against the refugees our wars and trade policies create. From the safety of air-conditioned theaters our heroic servicemen drone wedding goers or funeral mourners 10,000 kilometers away. They do so on suspicion that the revelers and mourners might one day, possibly intend us harm. Alternatively, our enlisted representatives level entire cities from a safe distance of 35,000 feet -- never seeing the heads their bombs severe more gruesomely than by knife.

We're afraid of Muslims. To protect ourselves from them and from each other, we insist on carrying guns everywhere -- in our homes, schools, churches and public meetings. We pass "Stand Your Ground Laws." We imprison one another at the highest rate on the planet. We punish and execute rather than rehabilitate and forgive. We spend nearly $1 billion on "defense," all the while claiming we have no money for health care or to relieve student debt. Whites fear African-Americans. We empower our police to kill them with impunity -- excused every time by recitation of the cowardly mantra: "I feared for my life."

Of course, none of that has anything to do with Yeshua the Christ. In fact, it patently contradicts the Holy Spirit conferred by the Prophet in today's To repeat: that Spirit is premised on willingness to be wounded. Accordingly, it would open borders, radically disarm, reduce military budgets by 60%, demilitarize the police, and eliminate capital punishment. It would embrace non-violence and prison reform.

There is only one thing that makes all of that "unrealistic:" FEAR -- unwillingness to face the implications of recognizing Jesus' wounded body.

So do we believe in resurrection or not? Are Jesus' words a blessing or an indictment?

If the latter, what will we do this week to make it the former? What will we do in November?

(Discussion follows)

Authors Website: http://mikerivageseul.wordpress.com/

Authors Bio:

Mike Rivage-Seul is a liberation theologian and former Roman Catholic priest. His undergraduate degree in philosophy was received from St. Columban's Major Seminary in Milton Massachusetts and awarded through D.C.'s Catholic University. He received his theology licentiate from the Atheneum Anselmianum and his doctorate in moral theology (magna cum laude) from the Academia Alfonsiana in Rome where Mike studied for five years. There he also played club basketball for Eurosport and a team within Rome's Stella Azzurra professional organization. In 1972 he served for a year as coordinator of volunteers in Monsignor Ralph Beiting's Christian Appalachian Project. Then for 40 years, Mike taught theology and general studies at Berea College in Kentucky receiving its Seabury Award for excellence in teaching, Berea's highest faculty award. At Berea, Mike founded its Peace and Social Justice Studies program. He and his wife, Peggy, also organized and started the Berea Interfaith Taskforce for Peace. For years, he periodically taught liberation theology in a Latin American Studies Program in Costa Rica sponsored by the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. In Costa Rica Mike and Peggy were fellows at the liberation theology research institute, the Departamento Ecumenico de Investigaciones (DEI) headed by the great Franz Hinkelammert. In Mexico, they also served as fellows and program directors in San Miguel de Allende's Center for Global Justice. Mike's studies and teaching have brought him to countries across Europe and to Cuba (on 10 occasions), Nicaragua (12 occasions), Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Israel, India, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Brazil where he and Peggy were associates of Paulo Freire. Mike's languages include Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, and Spanish. For three years he was a monthly columnist at the Lexington Herald-Leader in Lexington Kentucky. He has contributed more than 400 articles to the online news source OpEdNews where he is a senior editor. He has also published in the DEI's Pasos Journal, in the National Catholic Reporter and Christianity Today. His scholarship has been cited in the New York Times. Mike has authored or edited 10 books including one of poetry and a novel based on his experiences in Cuba. His latest book is The Magic Glasses of Critical Thinking: seeing through alternative fact & fake news (Peter Lang publishers). He blogs at http://mikerivageseul.wordpress.com/ Attempting to appropriate his identity as an ordained exorcist (all Catholic priests are), Mike also reads Tarot cards. He is a lifelong golfer and Chicago Cubs fan.