Do you believe in ghosts? A recent poll indicates that nearly 35% of Americans believe in the existence of ghosts. A ghost is described as the disembodied spirit of a dead person. These are usually thought to be the spirits of those who died in some tragic way. For some reason, they are not at rest and make it a point of revealing themselves to some people.
I remember the story of the ghost at St. John’s Cathedral. Apparently, a nun was seen opening the doors and lights of the one of the classrooms in the old school building during the late hours of the night. One of the priests would go over to turn off the light and, as he was walking away, it would go on again. Some of those sisters were more frightening in person than as ghosts so it wasn’t a big deal to very many people.
Those who reported ghostly presences in their homes usually describe other factors that accompany such sightings: a drop in temperature, a breeze, unaccountable sounds, and even the displacement of furniture and other possessions.
Besides the good old ghost stories that appear on the big screen from time to time, there are documentaries, books and lots of websites that deal with this subject. There are even categories of ghosts. Those that wander graveyards, those that inhabit old buildings, those that live in Churches, those that appear in photos. There are even ghosts who were part of a shipwreck. Interesting stuff!
Some of the post-Resurrection stories that we listen to in this Easter Season could make for good ghost stories. The Risen Jesus is seen by various disciples over a period of time. Mary Magdalene encounters him near his tomb, he appears to his disciples by passing through closed doors. He begins walking alongside two disciples on the road to Emmaus then vanishes from their sight. We’re even told in the Scriptures that he appeared to many of the disciples in different places at the same time. Today’s Gospel is another post-Resurrection appearance story.
We hear that the disciples are hiding in the upper room when Jesus appears to them. We are told of their reaction, “they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost.” Why would they think this? Well, they knew that Jesus had been killed and his body laid in the tomb. So, we might be able to empathize with them when they see him appear before them.
But Jesus makes it clear that he is not a ghost. Jesus is not some disembodied spirit. First, he speaks to them, “Peace be with you!” Then he shows them his hands and his feet. Clearly, he wants them to see that he is the same person who was wounded on the cross. He wants them to see the nail marks which he still bears in his body. Then, he asks them for something to eat. Taking a piece of fish, he eats it in their presence. In all of these ways, Jesus is trying to make a point: it is really him— in the flesh. The disciples are not seeing an apparition; they are not hallucinating; they are not dreaming. The same Jesus who was killed and laid in the tomb, has come to life. Unlike the little boy in The Sixth Sense who says, “I see dead people” the Apostles are seeing not a dead person but someone who is fully alive.
This story is critical to our understanding of the Resurrection. Resurrection is rooted in the body, not just the spirit. It is one thing to suggest that the soul continues to live after death. That’s what we all learned. But where does that leave the body? What we understand is that Jesus was raised with a body. This body was fully alive— so much so that is bears the wounds Jesus suffered in his earthly life. It is not simply the spirit that is raised but both spirit and body. Why? Because that is what we are as human beings. We are one entity— flesh and spirit— and to be anything less— one or the other— is to be incomplete. So, if Resurrection is the perfection and fulness of our human experience then it necessarily includes the continuation of life, body and spirit, beyond the tomb. Of course, how this will happen is unknown to us. We can only think of it in spiritual terms— a disembodied spirit that moves on only to reunited with its body at a later time. However, Resurrection, from the moment we die in this life, involves the whole person.
If resurrection involves the body as much as the soul, then we must conclude that the life of faith that we live each and every day as baptized persons must not only be something spiritual. Living the life of faith does not mean being disconnected from the body. Rather, living in faith involves what we do in the body. We are called to live as Jesus disciples in the flesh. If we do not somehow demonstrate that we are disciples of Christ by the way we live now, then we are not fulfilling our calling as his witnesses. And if we do not give witness to Christ living in us as we are now, then Jesus becomes a ghost— someone from the past— someone we can’t possibly see in today’s world.
That is why the Church places so much emphasis on our behavior and conduct as Christians. How we speak to others; how we conduct ourselves in the workplace; even the way we care for ourselves and our bodies will make Christ present in the world.
In the same way, if the Church is the body of Christ then the Church itself must make a commitment to be at work in a visible and tangible way in the world. The Church’s ministry is not simply limited to praying, but to acting in the world. The life of the resurrection that we are to live in the here and now must involve both prayer and action. The resurrection is about feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, welcoming the stranger, comforting the sorrowful, caring for the sick. The Body of Christ, the Church, must be concerned for the bodily integrity and physical needs of all people. Again, were the Church limited or confined in its ministry to simply praying for the world, then it would become invisible, intangible and irrelevant. So, what is needed to make the Church and the Risen Christ present to those in need are brave and prayerful people who seek to live out the commandment of love in a visible and tangible way. We are not ghosts, we are real flesh and blood ministers of God’s love. As St. Teresa of Avila once wrote: We are Christ’s body on earth. We are his hands, feet, eyes and ears in the world. Jesus must be enfleshed or incarnated in each of us so that his ministry to others may continue.
This is something that Catholic missionaries have always focused on. As a rule, Catholic missions focus more on meeting the physical needs of the poor wherever they may be as a way of introducing the people to Christianity. The practice is to become part of the community you are serving as a missionary. You eat with them, you learn their language, you build hospitals and schools. Then you preach the Good News to them. As the saying goes, “You can’t preach the Gospel to someone who has an empty stomach”
So, the missionary tradition of the Church understands that just as Jesus had to eat, so too, the poor have to eat. Just as Jesus needed to be welcomed and shown hospitality, so too, we must welcome others and practice hospitality. Just as Jesus had to be loved and cared for by others, so too, others need to be shown love and compassion by us. In doing so, we begin preparing people for the Resurrection which involves the transformation of not just the soul but the body as well.
In spite of their initial fear, the disciples of Jesus came to realize that he was not a ghost but the real person they had loved and come to know in their lives. So, too, we must make certain that others come to see Jesus fully alive in us as we live the life of resurrection each day.