Before we depart the Easter Octave, the Church warns us about faith and believing in the witnesses to the faith. The Gospel of St. Mark recounts how the disciples did not believe Mary Magdalene when she told them she had seen the resurrected Lord (Mark 16:9-11). Then, they persist in unbelief even after hearing the report of the two disciples on the road who encountered the Lord (Mark 16:12-13). Later, however, our Lord appears to the “eleven” at a meal. He rebukes them “for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised” (Mark 16:14). Following this reprimand, He wastes no time and commissions them to go out to the whole world and proclaim the Gospel (Mark 16:15). There is a great lesson here for us.
We must ask ourselves the question, “Do we believe the witnesses?” While faith appeals to the heart, all that we believe finds a foundation in what is real and true. In each of the instances mentioned above, the witnesses see and believe. However, our Lord rebukes the disciples for not believing them. We must remember that the witnesses and their testimony are part of what is real and true. That to which the witnesses attest is always important.
There is much in the world today to lead us astray and doubt the witnesses. The Devil is at work overtime, tempting us with discouragement, panic, ennui, indifference, boredom, to name only a few. I recall a passage from the Epistle of Barnabas, an ancient and revered composition: “When evil days are upon us and the worker of malice gains power, we must attend to our own souls and seek to know the ways of the Lord. In those times reverential fear and perseverance will sustain our faith, and we will find need of forbearance and self-restraints as well” (2:1-2). Wise advice to guide us in difficult days!