If we can’t empathise with the Apostles stuck in the upper room this Easter season then we never will. The reasons behind it might be very different but surely we can be in touch with their fears, wonder like they did, asking the same questions. You know: How did all this happen? How did we end up here? Will life ever be the same again?
The answers for them are to be found in the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles and the rest of the New Testament. They gave witness to their experience of Jesus, told how they eventually broke out of their shackles with the help of the Holy Spirit and went back out into the world to make a difference.
In our situation, as necessary as it may be, we should be feeling uncomfortable, shackled, alarmed at how the crisis is exposing the inequity and injustice of the society we live in. We should be noticing how it seems to be the poor and the marginalised who are (again) suffering the most.
If we want things to be different just move on a little and reflect on what it says in the reading from the Acts of The Apostles this Sunday. Notice that they shared what they had according to what they needed. Notice how gladly and generously they shared what they had.
In our current troubles we should take some comfort from the generous response we are seeing across all levels of society and forgive some of the slips along the way. We should also remember that this will need to be sustained after we emerge from our isolation, not just for days and weeks but for months and years.
If we can’t learn to live by Gospel values after this wake up call, will we ever?